Protesters call for government action in alleged child rape in South Africa

Content notice: This article contains descriptions of assault and gender-based violence that some readers may find disturbing. 

By Christianah Lumsden

Over 2,000 people marched in Pretoria, South Africa, in early April, demanding government action against ongoing violence towards women and girls in the country. The protests were sparked by the alleged rape of a seven-year-old girl at her school last year in Matatiele, and femicide in Bredasdorp. 

The young girl, referred to as Cwecwe to protect her identity, became a symbol of public outrage, with thousands gathering in Cape Town to protest. The anger intensified when it was revealed that her mother reported the sexual assault a month after it happened, expressing deep disappointment in the justice system she felt had failed her.

The current Miss South Africa, Mia Le Roux, was among the protesters urging the government to do more to uphold the rights of women and girls, especially in the context of abuse. 

One of the protestors, student activist Nombulelo Chiya, said during an interview:

I don’t think that the government is doing enough, I think more should be done in the case of gender-based violence because as I’m speaking to you right now there is currently a woman who’s being raped. There’s currently a child being abused or raped and we’re just chilling and also not speaking up, as if it is a thing that just happens once in a while.

According to a recent documentary “Small Town Safe House” by Al Jazeera, several instances of rape and murder in Bredasdorp, South Africa have occurred in the last few years, causing widespread distress and fear among its 15,000 inhabitants. This Black and mixed-race community is also disproportionately affected by societal problems such as extreme poverty, family fractures, drug addiction, and domestic violence.

Many women are unable to care for themselves or their children. Some of these children are unable to break the cycle of abuse and poverty, left traumatized and unable to escape the dire conditions they face. Lana O’Neill, a community outreach worker, faces an uphill battle in securing funding from the corrupt government to help these marginalized groups. She tells of one incident which deeply affected her and further scarred the community: Jodene Pieters, a 17-year-old teenager who was raped. Afterward, the perpetrators set fire to her body, which was then thrown into a pit. Jodene’s body was unrecognizable except for a distinctive mark on her leg.

African Union leaders strive to protect women and girls

At the African Union Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 2025, all member states adopted the AU Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU CEVAWG). As noted by Every Woman Treaty, this new Convention is a major step in strengthening women’s rights and protecting women and girls on the continent.

Every Woman Treaty explains that limiting gender-based violence and advancing legal frameworks that ensure justice and accountability for all forms of gender-based violence are crucial in attaining overall gender equality. 

Aisha Simon, Board Chair of Every Woman Treaty, spoke in support of this law, as well as a new Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), a complementary piece of legislation meant to stop violence against women and girlsAccording to Every Woman, this framework will change social norms and attempt to lower rates of violence and create safer environments where women and girls can live to their full potential.

There has been a growing trend in violence against women and girls in Africa since 2023, prompting concern from the UN Women's Organisation. Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director, said such violence is preventable through robust legislation, so that governments are held responsible. The 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 2025 will further enhance the urgency for world leaders to recommit to ending femicide and violence against women and girls.

Where does South Africa go from here?

The violence and sexual assault cases have not gone unnoticed. Nobunto Hlazo-Webster, deputy leader of Build One SA, urged the South African government to intervene. She noted:

We are here to say that the way the justice system works in this country is not conducive to curbing and actually killing the gender-based violence and femicide crisis that we have.

She demands that the government publish a National Registry for Sex Offenders that gets updated regularly. She also noted that educators should be screened against this database to deter would-be offenders in schools. 

The government has introduced legislation that would ensure the safety and protection of women and children from abuse and violence. The National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Bill and the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill were signed into law in May 2024 to offer leadership guidance to fight gender-based violence against women and children in a proactive approach. As the country reached the milestone of 30 years of democracy, President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa signed both bills into law and said: “Corruption and gender-based violence are affronts to the human dignity that is the inalienable right of every South African. These forms of criminality are holding our country back and preventing us from realising our full potential.”

In a Presidential state of the nation address in February 2024, President Ramaphosa spoke of the long 30-year journey to “achieve a new society” that is democratic, although as a nation, South Africa has “endured times of great difficulty, when the strength of our constitutional democracy has been severely tested.”

In his inaugural speech on  May 10, 1994, President Nelson Mandela said:

Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must …reinforce humanity’s belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul.

President Mandela’s wish was for the international community to get involved in supporting the rights of the historically marginalized. He said:

We trust that you will continue to stand by us as we tackle the challenges of building peace, non-sexism, non-racism, and democracy.

Although there has been some progress towards addressing these challenges, the fight against gender-based violence cannot succeed unless South Africans — and the global community that supports the visions of Presidents Ramaphosa and Mandela — stand united in seeking justice alongside the families of Cwecwe and Jodene.

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