On the 4th of February 2021 SA President, Cyril Ramaphosa together with the International Women’s Forum of South Africa and social partners launched the GBVF response fund 1. So far, the private sector has pledged R128 million to help fight the scourge of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) in South Africa. The amount will be supporting the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP), and the wider GBVF response in the country.
Ramaphosa said the fund was “a promise made to women and children in our country to work together and end the violence against women and children”.He expressed his appreciation for resources from businesses and philanthropies, who are committed to social transformation, and were able to contribute.
“This commitment comes at a time of great economic difficulty which itself contributes to the hardship and vulnerability affecting women. It is an important contribution to improving the lives of women and girls in our society,” said Ramaphosa.
The UN has also commended the South African government on the launch of the private sector Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund.
“As UN South Africa, we are mindful that it is not just the business of government alone, but requires a whole-of-society approach.We, therefore, congratulate the private-sector companies who have come forward to put their money where their mouth is by bringing resources to the table to address this second pandemic – gender-based violence and femicide,” said Nardos Bekele-Thomas, who is the resident representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in South Africa.
Ramaphosa urged the private sector and philanthropies to support the fund, which will allocate financial support to the programmes that are based on the National Strategic Plan’s six pillars. The six pillars of NSP include accountability, coordination and leadership; prevention and rebuilding social cohesion; justice, safety and protection; response, care, support and healing; economic power; and research and information management.
Companies that would like to contribute can access information on https://www.gbvfresponsefund1.org/ or by searching gbvffund on google which will lead them to the site.
