Groundswell of support for survivors of GBV

The winner in this category has shone a global spotlight on South Africa's shockingly high rates of gender-based violence and femicide.

- By Naledi Mashishi

More than 1,000 students and staff took part in the G20 Women's Shutdown protest at the University of Cape Town on 21 November.

(Photo: Brenton Geach/Gallo Images)

Over the past month, social media turned purple thanks to a grassroots movement that brought South Africa to a standstill.

Its protests cast an international spotlight on South Africa’s alarming rates of femicide and gender-based violence. This action, named the G20 Women’s Shutdown, is the reason Daily Maverick readers have voted for Women for Change as the Movement of the Year.

Women for Change has become a leading voice in bringing attention to cases of gender-based violence and femicide in the country, broadcasting survivor stories to more than 400,000 followers on Instagram and over 200,000 on TikTok.

The G20 Women’s Shutdown, hosted on 21 November, called for women to abstain from work and economic participation. Supporters were urged to change their social media profile pictures to purple, wear black and participate in one of the designated 15-minute lie-ins in honour of the victims of gender-based violence.

The movement gained widespread local and international attention, and its petition to have gender-based violence declared a national disaster attracted more than one million signatures. On the day of the protest, President Cyril Ramaphosa indeed officially declared it to be a national disaster.

From a running club to activism