South Africa has formally classified gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster under Section 23 of the Disaster Management Act, elevating the crisis to the highest level of national priority and triggering a coordinated response across all spheres of government.
The classification of gender-based violence and femicide, known as GBVF, requires coordinated action across national, provincial and local authorities, officials said.
Officials said the move is intended to strengthen oversight, accelerate interventions and align resources across departments.
The National Disaster Management Centre said the scale and impact of GBVF meet the legal threshold of a disaster, citing sustained loss of life, serious injuries, psychological harm and widespread disruption to families and communities.
Authorities said incident levels indicate a life-safety risk severe enough to warrant the use of emergency management mechanisms.
The government has previously acknowledged the depth of the crisis. President Cyril Ramaphosa has described gender-based violence as a “second pandemic,” pointing to its alarming prevalence alongside health emergencies such as COVID-19.
According to the National Disaster Management Centre, failure to act decisively could allow GBVF to escalate into a broader humanitarian crisis.
The disaster classification enables centralized coordination, rapid decision-making and prioritization of state capacity to address the threat.
In remarks shared on social media in late November, Ramaphosa said South Africa had declared gender-based violence and femicide a national crisis and that all social partners had agreed on the need for extraordinary and concerted action, using every available means, to bring it to an end.
Officials said invoking the disaster law reflects progress in the government’s response by formally recognizing GBVF as a national emergency and embedding the fight against it within an established legal and operational framework designed for large-scale threats to public safety.
