EMALAHLENI – Premier, Mandla Ndlovu has called on all sectors of society to reject the culture of silence and impunity that enables gender-based violence and femicide.
Speaking at the Provincial Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide meeting in Emalahleni today, Ndlovu, who co-chaired the session, said the fight against GBVF requires collective action.
“Gender-based violence is more than a criminal act. It is a direct attack on the humanity, dignity, and freedom of our women, men, children, and vulnerable groups,” Ndlovu said. “It destroys families, weakens communities, undermines social cohesion, and leaves deep scars that affect generations.”
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He stressed that abuse must not be treated as a private matter hidden from public view.
“We cannot become comfortable with statistics while our people continue to live in fear. When violence becomes normalised, when women live in fear, and when children grow up witnessing brutality, we lose that sense of ubuntu. We cease to recognise ourselves in one another,” he said.
The Mpumalanga Provincial Council on GBVF was launched in February 2025 to coordinate and monitor the implementation of prevention strategies, victim support services, law enforcement responses, and community awareness programmes across the province.
The meeting was attended by government officials, traditional leaders, representatives of the South African Police Service, and civil society organisations.
