South African women stage silent protest ahead of G20 summit

Hundreds of South African women participated in a lie-down protest against gender-based violence on November 21st, organised by Women for Change, one day prior to the G20 summit, according to AP.

This led to the South African government officially declaring gender-based violence as a national disaster, after which, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated, “The women of our country are crying out that they need much more focus on the issue.”

Despite initiatives to tackle gender issues and reform ideas for South Africa’s prosecuting body, including seeking life sentences for offenders, gender violence expert Professor Corné Davis-Buitendag revealed, “the numbers are not going down.” 

AP, Maghrebi.org