South African Women’s Groups Demand GBV Be Declared National Disaster, Plan Nationwide Shutdown

Women’s rights organisations across South Africa are mobilising for nationwide protests, demanding that gender-based violence (GBV) be officially declared a national disaster amid rising attacks on women.

The campaign, which began as a viral social media movement, has gained significant momentum and will culminate in a nationwide “shutdown” today, ahead of the G20 Summit holding in Johannesburg. Organisers say the timing is deliberate, aimed at drawing global attention to the country’s deepening GBV crisis.

Celebrities, citizens and international supporters have joined the movement by changing their social media profile pictures to purple — a colour widely associated with GBV awareness — in solidarity with victims and survivors.

Activists say the protests are a call for immediate, concrete action from the government to protect women and address what they describe as a national emergency.