Johannesburg, South Africa — On Saturday, the world’s most powerful heads of state descended on Johannesburg for the Group of 20 leaders’ summit. But one day earlier, women flooded the streets to protest the soaring rates of gender-based violence — in numbers that dwarfed any delegation — leading the South African government to officially declare gender-based violence a natural disaster across the nation.
“The violence perpetrated by men against women erodes the social fabric of nations,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, speaking at the G20 Social Summit just before the official declaration. “We have agreed, among all social partners, that we need to take extraordinary and concerted action — using every means at our disposal — to end this crisis.”
Ramaphosa classified gender-based violence as a national crisis on Thursday. The government elevated it to a national disaster some 24 hours later, stating that after a “thorough reassessment of previous reports,” along with updated input from government agencies and civil society groups, gender-based violence now meets “the threshold of a potential disaster.”
About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
