FOOT SOLDIERS” DEMAND URGENT, INCLUSIVE ACTION ON GBVF AT NATIONAL DIALOGUE

By Cuma Pantshwa.

• Survivors, activists, and advocates across diverse sectors, including disability rights activists, LGBTQIA+ groups, and sex worker organisations, demanded that GBVF responses be inclusive, intersectional, and responsive to the realities of all survivors, regardless of gender, identity, or occupation.
• Participants criticised government inaction, inadequate funding, and the lack of visible leadership, highlighting failures within the justice, policing, and healthcare systems, and calling for transparent use of GBVF funds.
• Speakers emphasized the critical importance of investing in prevention programmes, addressing the maintenance of deteriorating facilities such as Thuthuzela Care Centres, and promoting changes in societal attitudes that contribute to victim-blaming and misogyny both online and offline.

The hall at UNISA was anything but quiet as community activists, GBV survivors, and advocates, self-described “foot soldiers” in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) took to the platform to raise deeply personal concerns, practical solutions, and frustrations over a system they say is failing the country.

The session at the ongoing National Dialogue convention quickly turned into a raw and unfiltered reflection of “dialogue in action.” Voices from across sectors, disability rights, LGBTQIA+ activists, sex worker rights advocates, youth leaders, and survivors, spoke not only of the scale of the crisis but of the urgent need for decisive change

One speaker called for the conversation to broaden beyond its current scope:
“We also need to include the fact that there are male victims who need protection. We must teach boys to respect women, not only teach girls to protect themselves. Respect must be for everyone—regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or identity. And we must stop the infighting in our own communities over whose story matters more. Such divisions weaken our collective fight.”

LGBTQIA+ participants stressed that violence against queer and trans people is often invisible in GBVF discourse, despite being rooted in the same systems of patriarchy and misogyny. They urged that prevention programmes, safe spaces, and survivor services must affirm all identities, not just those in heterosexual contexts.

“We are treated as criminals, not survivors” – Sex worker voices
Sex worker rights activists urged that the decriminalisation of sex work is not just a labour rights issue, but a critical GBVF intervention.
“When sex work is criminalised, survivors of rape and assault can’t go to the police without risking arrest themselves. We are treated as criminals, not survivors. This law makes us more vulnerable to abuse from both clients and law enforcement. Our rights are being violated. We get turned away from clinics. And stop stigmatising us!
They argued that legal reform, alongside targeted services and protection, would significantly reduce violence and impunity in the sector.

Disability rights and inclusive safety

A representative from Blind SA and the South African Disability Alliance warned that persons with disabilities are becoming “more marginalised and vulnerable” in the context of GBVF.
“There is very little accessible information for our sector, and the physical environment is often unsafe or impossible to navigate. We are victimised not only by abusers, but by systems that ignore disability inclusion. Every GBVF programme must see us as part of the whole, not as a separate afterthought.”

Holding power to account – and calling out inaction

A recurring theme was the perceived absence of government in both the room and in the fight. One participant put it bluntly:
“It’s the President’s job to address us directly and tell us why women are still scared in their own homes. The justice system is failing us. Even when funds are allocated for GBVF, we don’t know how they’re being used. There’s no real accountability—just apps and announcements that sound nice but aren’t changing lives.” Another woman angrily shouted, “Government must stop being a bystander”.
A representative from Women for Change challenged the state’s record:
“We have been fighting this battle for years, and what did they do? A 90-day blitz. Did anyone see it? Did we see money? Change? Any new organisations funded? I don’t think so.
We’re here every single day, speaking to survivors, supporting victims’ families—because at every level they are failed. By the police, by the judicial system, even by the medical system. We do this with no funding, no support. And to be honest, we were surprised to be invited here. They fear our voices because we don’t bend over to them. We are here for one reason only: to stand with the victims, the survivors, the women, girls, and the queer community.”

The role of social media and victim-blaming

Participants also turned the mirror on society, pointing to the toxic content we consume and endorse online.
“Many women subscribe to content that demeans women or engage in victim-blaming when a survivor comes forward. We have to be honest misogyny isn’t just ‘out there.’ It’s in our homes, in our friendships, and in what we choose to ignore. And it’s not just women—LGBTQIA+ people and sex workers are also shamed and blamed when targeted, as if their identity or work justifies the abuse.”

Failing infrastructure and prevention gaps

The condition of Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs) came under fire, with one participant describing the facilities as “dilapidated.”
“I didn’t even know what I was sitting on—was it a chair or a sponge? Departments pass the responsibility between each other while survivors sit in neglect.”
The debate intensified over the issue of funding, with many noting that very little money is invested in prevention, and that the absence of government representatives in the room felt like a symbol of the broader neglect.

From ‘Downloading’ to ‘DREAMS’

In the framework of the National Dialogue process, this session was part of the “downloading” stage—collecting and surfacing the real, lived experiences and grievances of communities. From here, the process will move into consolidation, shaping these issues into a set of “DREAMS” designed to guide tangible, citizen-led action on the ground.
The Gender and GBVF breakaway was one of ten thematic “labs” running in parallel, each tackling a critical challenge in South Africa’s future:
1. A dynamic, inclusive economy, jobs and livelihoods
2. Crime and corruption
3. Winning the future through education and a healthy nation
4. Fixing the state and making the Constitution work
5. Building South African values, culture and strengthening our social fabric
6. Gender and GBVF
7. Dealing with intergenerational trauma and healing
8. Land, spatial equality and environmental justice
9. Poverty and inequality
10. Land tenure and mineral rights
As the “downloading” continues across all themes, the combined outcome will form a roadmap of shared national priorities—one that reflects the urgency of the voices heard in the GBVF room at UNISA, and the determination of communities to lead the change they want to see.