Government’s failure to protect women and children is undeniable

IN SOUTH Africa, the ongoing epidemic of gender-based violence (GBV), rape, and femicide has reached an alarming scale.

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Despite years of public outcry and numerous initiatives, the South African government continues to fail women, children, and girls in particular. The tragic story of Cwecwe, a young girl from the Eastern Cape who was raped, has become a symbol of the systemic failures of the state, policing, and agencies of justice.

The Justice for Cwecwe movement, which emerged following her ordeal, has shone a harsh light on the incompetence and indifference of these institutions.

The failure of the state to protect vulnerable women and children is not an isolated incident. It reflects a larger crisis of governance, law enforcement, and social support systems in South Africa. Women, children, and girls across the country are suffering daily from violence, and the state’s inability to offer adequate protection has created a climate of fear and insecurity. Despite the passing of progressive laws, the reality on the ground tells a very different story. The govern-ment’s empty rhetoric and the slogans of race reform have done little to stem the tide of violence.

The SAPS, which is tasked with ensuring the safety of citizens, has proven itself both incapable and, at times, complicit in perpetrating the violence.

Police officers often fail to respond promptly to distress calls, mishandle evidence, and, in some cases, even ignore victims of GBV.

The judicial system, too, has shown repeated failures in holding perpetrators accountable. Many women and girls who report their abusers are met with a justice system that is overburdened, under-resourced, and plagued by delays.