ANTI-GBV 16 days cannot solve a 365-day crisis

AS WE MARK 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, the Democratic Alliance (DA) again acknowledges a crisis that has lived with us for far too long.

- De Boer, MPL, is a DA KZN Spokesperson on Social Development.

The fact remains that behind every statistic is an individual whose dignity has been shattered, a family whose peace has been broken, and a community left with wounds that may never heal.

While we welcome President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recognition that gender-based violence (GBV) is a crisis, it is a declaration — not a solution. It is a statement rather than action. And 16 days — no matter how important - are simply not enough. They have never been enough. How do we fit a lifetime of trauma into 16 days? How do we compress the fear of millions into two short weeks?

How do we address a crisis that haunts our people 365 days a year, by acknowledging it for only 16?

Every single week women are killed in our country. Not one or two. At least 10 to 12 women lose their lives every week at the hands of men who believe they own them, control them or can silence them forever.

And behind each murder is a long, invisible trail of unreported assaults, threats, humiliation and terror that these women endured long before they took their last breath.

I am not just a DA member of the KZN Legislature. I am also not just a DA public representative. I am a GBV survivor. I know the terror of hearing footsteps approaching the door and not knowing what version of your abuser is waiting on the other side.