The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) recently completed a review and assessment of the implementation report on the Emergency Action Response Plan (ERAP) on gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide, one of the interventions undertaken by government to deal with GBV.

The ERAP was unveiled by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019, with the aim to fast-track a R1.6-billion plan of action to address GBV and femicide in the country over six months between October 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 .

The ERAP is focused on access to justice for victims and survivors of crime, changing norms and behaviours through high-level prevention efforts, urgent response to victims and survivors of GBV, strengthening accountability and the architecture to adequately respond to GBV, as well as the prioritising of interventions that facilitate economic opportunities for addressing women’s economic vulnerability.

The CGE assessed the extent to which the various government departments succeeded or failed in carrying out their assigned ERAP responsibilities and whether they met their targets by the end of the six-month period.

CGE chairperson Tamara Mathebula said the commission is convinced that the findings contained in the report hold valuable lessons for the gender sector and for policymakers in government regarding some of the challenges experienced during the implementation of the ERAP initiative. 

She added that the CGE hoped that the public release of the report will contribute to wider public debates about some of the challenges that are often encountered in initiatives of this magnitude.

“These include monitoring and evaluation of policies and practices of State organs, State agencies, public bodies and the private sector in order to promote gender equality and the rights of women, and to prepare and submit reports to Parliament containing recommendations on the protection, development, attainment and promotion of gender equality,” Mathebula said.

The CGE work was based on assessment of performance information provided by implementing agencies such as government departments, related agencies, and other State institutions.