SOUTH AFRICA — Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, has publicly acknowledged persistent GBVF justice system gaps in South Africa, noting that systemic shortcomings continue to affect survivors despite significant institutional progress.
Speaking during a strategic engagement with the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) on Friday, 13 November 2026, Chikunga highlighted that challenges regarding access to justice, secondary victimisation, case management, investigative capacity, conviction rates, and coordination continue to undermine the criminal justice experience for survivors.
The engagement focused on the implementation of Pillar 3 (Justice, Safety and Protection) of the National Strategic Plan on GBVF (NSP-GBVF). It followed a comprehensive CGE study examining implementation hurdles across reporting, victim support, investigation, prosecution, and sentencing.
Chikunga commended the CGE’s oversight efforts, specifically noting a joint inquiry conducted alongside the South African Human Rights Commission and the CRL Rights Commission. This inquiry included direct engagements in Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal. She stated that the findings provided the government with crucial evidence regarding the difficulties faced by both survivors and the institutions tasked with supporting them.
“These challenges are real, and government remains committed to addressing them decisively,” Chikunga said.
Progress in Pillar 3 Implementation
Despite the identified shortcomings, the Minister reported that Pillar 3 recorded the strongest five-year performance among the six pillars of the NSP-GBVF. Out of 54 indicators under this pillar, 31 have been achieved, 14 are currently in progress, and nine remain unachieved.
Key infrastructural and systemic advancements include:
– The upgrading of 40 district courts to enhance support for domestic violence survivors.
– The establishment of 14 sexual offences courts in the financial year ending March 2026.
– The availability of 338 functional testimony facilities for remote or protected testimony.
– The issuance of 153,847 National Register for Sex Offenders clearance certificates over the past five years, with 79,179 issued specifically by March 2026.
Furthermore, the National Prosecuting Authority has advanced its specialized training initiatives. A total of 221 prosecutors have completed GBVF training against a target of 800. Between January and June 2026, an additional 1,185 law enforcement officers participated in GBV-related learning programmes designed to improve investigations, prosecutions, and victim support services.
However, Chikunga cautioned that enhanced institutional capacity has not yet resulted in consistently timely or survivor-centred outcomes. She pointed to a worsening backlog of sexual offences cases and inconsistent data regarding case progression and service quality within the justice system.
“Although system capacity has improved, timely, survivor-centred case outcomes remain the real test,” she stated.
Strengthening Reporting and Accountability
To address these gaps, the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities—the custodian of the NSP-GBVF—is reinforcing monitoring, reporting, and accountability mechanisms across government.
The department has established more than 40 Rapid Response Teams across various districts and municipalities to coordinate responses to GBVF incidents more effectively. Additionally, European Union-funded technical monitors and data collectors have been deployed to provincial Offices of the Premiers to improve evidence-based planning and reporting.
Implementation has also been broadened through the 100-Day Challenges initiative, which now spans all nine provinces with the participation of 46 to 50 municipalities. To aid in resource allocation and planning, a national GBVF services dashboard has been developed to map available support services.
Looking ahead, Chikunga outlined that the next phase of implementation will prioritize survivor-centred justice services, enhanced coordination across the criminal justice value chain, robust data systems, and stricter departmental accountability.
The Minister reaffirmed the government’s dedication to collaborating with the CGE and other stakeholders to close the identified gaps. She emphasized that eradicating GBVF necessitates sustained, unified collaboration among the government, civil society, communities, and all sectors of the public.
