Today I will be submitting parliamentary questions to Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities to ascertain exactly how she proposes that the establishment of the National Council Against Gender-Based Violence, announced on Monday 6 August, will be different from the range of current task teams and councils established to address violence against women.

The Council will be chaired by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and will consist of a dedicated secretariat located in the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities.

This is not the first time that such a council has been established. In fact, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the Department of Social Development, together with the monitoring and oversight function of the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities have already established:

• The Domestic Violence Task Team, chaired by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJCD);
• The Inter-sectoral Steering Committee on Sexual Offences, chaired by the DoJCD;
• The Interdepartmental Management Team on Sexual Offences, chaired by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA); and
• The Victim Empowerment Management Forum, chaired by the National Department of Social Development (DSD).

Minister Xingwana must explain to the women of South Africa how this new initiative proposes to protect women and end the scourge of domestic violence. While millions are being poured into establishing one expensive task team and council after the other, the levels of gender-based violence remain unacceptably high.

The DA has previously called for concrete steps to be taken to address gender-based violence, including:
Reinstating sexual offences courts;

• Establishing a database for domestic violence cases – currently, domestic violence is not recognised as a stand-alone crime and it is not possible to track trends and develop effective policing strategies;
• Resuming the publication of detailed statistics on sexual offences – the decision by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to stop providing detailed, accurate statistics undermines efforts to craft a comprehensive and informed strategy to detect and prevent these types of crimes; and
• Re-establishing the specialised Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units.

It is time for Minister Xingwana to take up her responsibility as the watchdog over line departments who are tasked with implementing strategies aimed at improving the lives of women. It is time to go beyond the rhetoric and identify the real obstacles to women’s empowerment and develop concrete solutions to overcome them.