DA decries GBV terror

WOMEN'S DAY: MANY DIDN'T CELEBRATE, BUT SURVIVED IT - ACTION SOCIETY

- Marizka Coetzer

While various Women's Day walks, marches and celebrations were hosted across the country over the weekend, many said more should be done to protect women, especially with the rise of gender-based violence (GBV).

Highlights in Tshwane included more than 1,500 female law enforcement officers from Gauteng municipalities, who marched to the Union Buildings, re-enacting the historic 1956 march in which over 20,000 women protested against the extension of pass laws to women.

In Ekurhuleni, hundreds of DA supporters marching to the Germiston central police station demanded increased resources for addressing GBV at police stations.

The party's deputy spokesperson on police, Lisa Schickerling, said the scourge of GBV must be addressed and it must happen soon, adding South Africa was failing its women.

"Ekurhuleni recorded over 1,600 murders in 2024, with precincts like Primrose and Germiston ranking among the most dangerous in South Africa.