The End GBVF 100-Day Challenges initiative continues to work toward combating gender-based violence, with a call to all courts, municipalities, and TVET colleges to apply to host their own 100-Day Challenge.
This year, the programme will be on a range of topics, such as enhancing the availability, promptness, and calibre of the resolution of GBVF-related court cases.
It aims to prevent GBVF in educational and workplace settings by offering integrated crisis response and post-crisis care for victims.
This action-focused programme saw over 80 teams within the court, municipal, and college ecosystems take on ambitious challenges in their communities, marking one of the country’s largest efforts to address the scourge of gender violence.
With a 98% reduction in the backlog for domestic violence protection orders in 2022 and a 78% reduction in 2023, according to Sixolile Ngcobo of the End GBVF 100-Day Challenges implementation team, the campaign has established itself as one of the nation’s top initiatives to combat gender-based violence and femicide.
“Leading on from a successful programme in 2023, we are looking to significantly grow the movement in 2024. The 100-Day Challenges have proven to be an effective way to facilitate, accelerate, and localise the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) at GBVF.
“If you are working within a municipality office, a court, or the TVET management team, we encourage you to register to host a 100-Day Challenge to end GBVF in your community,” said Ngcobo.
Some examples of the team’s outcomes in 2023 included:
* Nkowankowa Domestic Violence Court reduced its backlog by 90%.
* Lenyenye Domestic Violence Court achieved a 100% case finalisation rate.
* Mossel Bay Municipality established four GBVF hot-lines that are operational 24/7.
* Drakenstein Municipality hosted sports days for 800 youth to reduce idle time that could lead to harmful behaviour.
Nicky le Roux, regional programme officer: Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Justice, Southern Africa at Ford Foundation, spoke about their involvement in the campaign.
“When the NSP was developed, we quickly realised that the plan alone is not enough; it needs to be funded and implemented through multi-sectoral partnerships. The NSP highlights the need for multi-sectoral collaboration, and these 100-day challenges really encompass these necessary partnerships.”
The 2024 100-Day Challenges are supported by the Ford Foundation, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and the justice sector.
The Star