Hundreds of demonstrators marched through Pretoria on Friday in the latest protest against gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa, following the alleged rape of a 7-year-old girl, known publicly as Cwecwe to protect her identity. The child was reportedly assaulted at her school in Matatiele, Eastern Cape, in November 2023, but the incident was only reported to authorities a month later, sparking national outrage over delayed justice and systemic failures. Friday’s demonstration, part of a growing wave of protests, follows similar marches in Cape Town and Matatiele earlier this month. Protesters—dressed in black and carrying placards with messages such as “Enough is Enough” and “Protect Our Children”—called on the South African government to declare gender-based violence a national crisis and enforce harsher penalties for perpetrators.
Among those present in Pretoria was Miss South Africa 2024, Mia le Roux, who voiced solidarity with victims and demanded stronger government action. “We are hearing too many stories of our sisters and children being hurt,” she said. “This is a national disaster.” Themba Masango, leader of the advocacy group Not In My Name, urged men to take a more active role in confronting violence. “It’s not enough to condemn these acts—we must challenge the culture that allows them,” he said.
The victim’s mother has recently come forward, stating she feels abandoned by the justice system. Despite reporting the case, she claims there has been little visible progress in prosecuting the suspect or addressing the failures that allowed the incident to occur in a supposedly secure environment. Meanwhile, South Africa’s Police Ministry published crime data in February that showed a 3% decrease in reported rapes and attempted sexual offenses between October and December 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. However, contact sexual offenses and sexual assaults rose, raising concerns among activists that the overall situation remains dire.
According to the data, nearly two-thirds of the 11,803 rape cases during that period occurred in private homes, with 20% in public spaces, and others in schools, universities, and nightclubs—underscoring the pervasiveness of the threat. South Africa remains one of the countries with the highest rates of GBV globally, with President Cyril Ramaphosa previously calling it “the second pandemic” after COVID-19. Protesters now demand that this rhetoric be matched with concrete policy action and legal reform, warning that public patience is wearing thin.
