No challenge too big to solve for the people of SA

OVER the past two decades of my life as a public representative, I have seen South Africans coming together on many occasions to collectively find solutions to the many challenges that face our country.

But in all the challenges we have faced as a nation since 1994, there has never been a challenge that is too big to solve for the people of SA.

Our nation is battling with a host of challenges and one of these is a problem of gender-based violence and femicide, a problem that has reached worrying proportions.

According to the latest report released by Statistics SA on genderbased violence, 70 813 women experienced sexual offences in 2016/2017 as compared to 31 665 in 2015/2016. This is over 100% in violence against women and children.

Following requests from various organisations, President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for a Presidential Gender Summit. The summit is scheduled to take place over two days starting today in Centurion.

I have no doubt we all agree it is fitting that we dedicate this summit and its deliberations to one of our fearless fighters for freedom, Struggle stalwart Albertina Sisulu, whose centenary we are celebrating this year. Mama Sisulu, together with another Struggle veteran Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, dedicated their lives to the protection of women and children. We therefore owe it to them to intensify the Struggle they waged so that we achieve the objectives of no violence against women and children.

As we deliberate at the summit to find solutions to the problems of gender-based violence, we need to remind ourselves of the important role women play in the socioeconomic and political development of our country.

Through this summit, the government and civil society agree that the time has come for genderbased violence and femicide to be given the urgency they deserve by all South Africans. All of us must take the issue of women abuse very seriously and we must be reminded that women and children living in conditions of poverty and deprivation are most exposed to all forms of abuse and they need to be protected.

To ensure that we make a real difference through this summit, as government we must work harder to improve the material conditions of women across our country.

In this regard, we need to pay immediate attention in building active community policing forums, strengthen the relationship between the government and civil society, ensure men become part of the dialogue to end women abuse and making sure our criminal justice system responds harshly to perpetrators of abuse.

We need to improve the capacity of the state to meet its obligation in all these areas. The work of the police, the National Prosecuting Authority, the departments of Social Development and of Justice is central to this work.

However, as we carry out this work together to end women abuse, we will face a concerted campaign to undermine our efforts by those who perpetrate these gruesome acts of abuse against women and children.

They will underplay the progress we are making by continuing to abuse women in our communities. We should not be deterred by this small section of our population.

Civil society organisations must support us in the work to rid our society of abuse and should not allow themselves to be pitted against their own government.

I also call on political organisations, the religious communities, sports organisations, civic associations and youth organisations to join us in this fight.

I am certain that the summit will reflect critically on initiatives to date and identify actions of improvement in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide. More importantly, the summit must increase the mobilisation of the entire nation to continue to fight gender-based and child-directed violence and marginalisation.