President Cyril Ramaphosa’s declaration of gender-based violence as a national disaster raises questions about its implementation amid a history of weak state-civil society partnerships. (Image: Getty Images) Following sustained civil society advocacy, in November 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared gender-based violence and femicide a national disaster in South Africa. And yet the crisis featured less in this year’s State of the Nation Address and budget speech than in the two previous years.
So, what does Ramaphosa’s declaration mean in practice? Will it prove to be yet another bold pronouncement made in response to a public outcry, but not followed through? This recurring feature of the fraught relationship between the state and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) makes collaboration to address gender-based violence difficult.
Violence is a complex social problem that requires the government, NGOs, researchers, development partners and the private sector to work together. Lessons from current partnerships show that getting state-civil society relations back on track is key to addressing gender-based violence.
The 2016 Diagnostic Review of the government’s response to violence against women and children estimated that 60% of social services for women and children were provided by civil society. And yet the relationship between the parties has been characterised by conflict, unfulfilled promises, funding delays and cuts, and a lack of trust.
Frontline NGO and government workers are often under-resourced and overstretched, and the most vulnerable people in society bear the brunt.
Declaring gender-based violence and femicide a national disaster signifies a commitment to act with urgency, in line with the emergency provisions of the Disaster Management Act. The act requires a coordinated state response to mobilise and reprioritise (where necessary) the existing resources in its toolbox. What that means in practice is open to interpretation, but some partnership between the state and civil society will undoubtedly be necessary.
Given the severity of gender-based violence and the country’s strained fiscal environment, smart solutions that don’t reinvent the wheel are needed. Existing knowledge and lessons from current partnerships point the way.
National Strategic Plan
In 2020, the government introduced the National Strategic Plan on Gender-based Violence and Femicide (NSP) – one of the country’s most comprehensive responses to the crisis. The 10-year roadmap has six pillars: accountability, prevention, justice, response, economic empowerment and research. Each calls for partnerships in its implementation.
As part of the research pillar, the Human Sciences Research Council completed the first-ever gender-based violence prevalence study in 2022. It showed that one in three women in SA had experienced physical violence in their lives. The study also highlighted how this violence was linked to other factors such as economic status, past trauma and substance abuse.
These findings indicate that gender-based violence does not occur in isolation. Experiences of violence are seldom one-off events; they tend to be a repeated pattern throughout a person’s life. Research has shown that early experiences of violence in boys and girls increase the likelihood of becoming a victim, perpetrator or both, later in life.
This evidence points to the need for a coordinated, well-resourced, multisectoral approach to addressing the problem.
Last year was the National Strategic Plan’s midpoint, and the five-year review report shows mixed results. Successes include the steady growth of Thuthuzela Care Centres for victims of sexual violence, along with legislative reforms, the first-ever gender-based violence prevalence study, and the Gender-based Violence and Femicide Response Fund, which has supported 200 NGOs to the tune of R200-million.
Despite this progress, the problem remains one of the most pressing in SA. Challenges noted in the report include low levels of trust between the government and civil society, inconsistent and ineffective communication, and the poor localisation of the National Strategic Plan.
These mixed results underscore the importance of rebuilding trust and strengthening relationships as the anchor for addressing gender-based violence. When partners trust each other and understand each other’s work, they are more likely to respect one another’s roles and collaborate effectively.
Funding a key requirement
Funding is also a key requirement. The national Department of Social Development’s 2023 Sector Funding Policy lays the groundwork for multi-year funding for NGOs that provide vital services on behalf of the state. It also includes structuring norms for provincial social development department budgets.
The policy enables more effective relations between the department and its service providers, but uneven implementation has resulted in ongoing funding tensions between the government and NGOs.
The entrenched pattern of NGOs and the government speaking at, not with, each other must change. This tendency reinforces rivalry and a power dynamic in which the state is expected to lead rather than co-create solutions with civil society.
The Violence Prevention Forum presents an alternative approach that has been successfully tested. It brings together civil society, the government, researchers, development partners and the private sector to share knowledge and experience on how to tackle SA’s high levels of violence.
The forum’s facilitated engagements have enabled a deeper understanding of each sector’s work and robust conversations about the drivers of violence. It has fostered empathy and trust among participating leaders and promoted the use of evidence and best practices.
To effectively confront gender-based violence as a national disaster, the government must build on existing knowledge and strategies. The priority should be establishing trust and strengthening relationships with civil society, not just by holding meetings.
Rebuilding trust when there is a history of conflict must be a deliberate, ongoing process. It requires a fundamental rethinking of how engagements are convened and facilitated, how decisions are made, and how power is shared in the partnership.
The failure to reimagine this relationship may mean that any action following the president’s declaration will ring hollow. DM
Senzekile Bengu is a Junior Researcher, Justice and Violence Prevention; Xhanti Mhlambiso is a Researcher, Rule of Law, Special Projects at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Pretoria.
This article was first published by ISS Today.