WeeklySA_AdminTOLL: Africa recorded the highest rate of femicides, with 21 700 women murdered last year, says the United Nations…
By WSAM and Lehlohonolo Lehana
A total of 140 women and girls died every day in 2023 at the hands of their partner or a close relative, which means one woman killed every 10 minutes, according to a report released by United Nations Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Monday.
Released on the 25th anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the report sheds light on the global crisis of femicide and calls for urgent action.
“The epidemic of violence against women and girls shames humanity,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his message for the Day. “The world must heed this call. We need urgent action for justice and accountability, and support for advocacy.”
The report also coincides with the start of the annual 16 Days of Activism campaign, which runs from 25 November to December 10.
This year, the UNITE campaign is drawing attention to the alarming escalation of violence against women under the theme, “Every 10 minutes, a woman is killed. #NoExcuse. UNITE to End Violence against Women”.
Femicide transcends borders, socioeconomic statuses, and cultures, but its severity varies regionally. According to the report, Africa recorded the highest rates of intimate partner and family-related femicides, with 21 700 women killed in 2023, followed by the Americas and Oceania.
In Europe and the Americas, most victims were killed by their intimate partners, comprising 64 per cent and 58 per cent of cases, respectively. In contrast, women in Africa and Asia were more likely to be killed by family members than by partners, reflecting varied cultural and social dynamics responsible for this discrimination. Despite the alarming numbers, the lack of consistent and comprehensive data remains a significant challenge.
Only 37 countries reported data on intimate partner and family-related femicides in 2023, a sharp decline from 75 countries in 2020. This data gap hampers efforts to monitor trends and enforce accountability for these crimes.
UN Women and UNODC stressed the need for systematic data collection as part of a broader strategy to address violence against women. Accurate and transparent data is essential to inform policy, track progress, and ensure governments remain accountable for their commitments to gender equality. As the world approaches the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 2025, coupled with the fast-approaching five-year deadline to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal 5 on gender equality, the report serves as a call to action.
Conflict-related GBV
Meanwhile, more than 60 million women and girls worldwide who are forcibly displaced or stateless face high risks of gender-based violence (GBV), but funding for lifesaving services to support them is woefully lacking, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said today.
UN data reveals that reports of conflict-related sexual violence increased shockingly by 50 per cent last year compared to 2023, and women and girls accounted for 95 per cent of verified cases.
These numbers, however, “represent a small fraction of the reality” as many cases go unreported, the agency warned.
“In many remote locations, humanitarian access is cut off or resources and assistance are scarce. Access to justice also remains limited, and survivors fear retaliation and social marginalization,” UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told journalists in Geneva.
She said colleagues working in conflict situations continue to hear from survivors who have faced brutal violence, torture, sexual exploitation, sexual violence and other horrors, including as a weapon of war.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), for example, women’s and girls’ bodies have become an extension of the “battle ground” amid cyclical violence and worsening insecurity, including in displacement sites. Furthermore, reports of gender-based violence increased this year, with rape constituting most violations.
Calls for action
Today, the African National Congress Women’s League embarked on a march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, against gender-based violence and femicide.
They handed over a memorandum of demands to President Cyril Ramaphosa. The march took place as part of the 16 Days of Activism campaign to end violence against women and children.
The league’s secretary-general, Nokuthula Nqaba, says they are calling for decisive action against gender-based violence.
“It is against this background of the consistent onslaught against women of this country that as Women’s League in collaboration with all structures of the mass democratic movement, our alliance component, the progressive women’s movement of South Africa, faith-based organizations, the broader civil society and other political formations has resolved to intensify our advocacy for the implementation and strengthening of national prevention strategies.”
The league demands several key actions, including stricter no-bail measures from the courts.
Mirror Briefs
NEW TWIST IN MEYIWA CASE
The lead investigator in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial Brigadier Bongani Gininda , who has been under the cross examination at the Pretoria High Court, believes there was enough evidence that implicated Kelly Khumalo to Meyiwa’s killing.
Meyiwa was shot and killed at the house of the mother of his then girlfriend, Khumalo, in Vosloorus, on the East Rand, on October 26, 2014.
The people who were present in the house during the murder were Kelly, her sister Zandile, their mother Gladness, Meyiwa, Zandile’s then boyfriend Longwe Twala and Meyiwa’s close friends Tumelo Madlala and Mthokozisi Twala.
Questions have been raised as to why Kelly was never charged in the killing of Meyiwa. The lawyer for accused number 3, Advocate Charles Mnisi, wanted to know the National Prosecuting Authority’s stance on the role played by Kelly in Meyiwa’s murder.
“I am struggling to get the answer if Kelly Khumalo was the kingpin, whether that was part of the narrative that the Office of the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) had when they decided on this matter’’.
“Yes, I presented all the evidence as it is, and as I indicated, part of my request was that she be charged but there were further instructions in so far as she is concerned at that stage,” said Gininda.
Five men are standing trial for the murder of the late football star. They have all pleaded not guilty to all charges. – Lehlohonolo Lehana
WATER CRISIS IN JHB
WATER woes in Johannesburg have left hundreds of community members hopping mad. Some have had no water for almost three months.
Water shortages are currently being experienced in most parts of Gauteng, which has led to a number of service delivery protests.
“Water is a basic need, it is horrific that locals are denied access, hospitals, schools and businesses are not spared as some of them had to rely on water supply from government in order to function,” one resident said.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi recently urged residents to use water sparingly, as shortages have worsened in several municipalities. All municipalities were directed to implement level 1 restrictions. Authorities said this is to stop what they said, over consumption and to allow maintenance work.
“Our taps have been dry since last Thursday, we were told that water would be restored as soon as maintenance is completed however we still do not have water. We are forced to push wheelbarrows and collect water from tanks provided. We have toilets inside our homes, the smell is unpleasant, when we voted, we were promised a better life. This situation is unacceptable,” said Luzuko Green, a resident of Johannesburg,
Rand Water spokesperson, Makenosi Maroo said the entity has noticed that there were leaks within the municipal systems.
“We are losing an average of over 40% water through leaks in Gauteng.” – SANews
WIDOW JAILED FOR LIFE
A 44-year-old magistrate’s court employee who hired hitmen to murder her husband – a Metro police official – in May last year, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Durban High Court on Friday.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, confirmed that Faith Nongcebo Ntombela, 44, from Umlazi, was convicted for the murder of her husband, Captain Zwelakhe Ntombela . He was also sentenced to ten years imprisonment for the theft of her husband’s firearms and two years for defeating the ends of justice. The sentence will run concurrently.
Zwelakhe Ntombela, who was stationed at Durban Metro Police, was shot and killed on May 3, 2023, while arriving home in Umlazi, according to Hawks KZN spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo said.
“During investigation it was discovered that his private and service firearms were stolen by his wife before the shooting incident,” Mhlongo said.
“In July last year, Mzo Ntombela, 28, was arrested by the Hawks members working with National intervention Unit at Msinga area where he was hiding and Captain Ntombela’s firearms were recovered at Mzo’s homestead in KwaMaphumulo.”
His arrest led to the apprehension of his accomplices, Nongcebo, Khulani Cele and Sithembiso Khumalo.
Faith Ntombela was allegedly assisted by her co-accused, primary school principal, Sithembiso Khumalo, 53, in finding a hitman to kill her husband.
Mzo Ntombela appeared in court previously where he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for murder. – SA News
