Siviwe Gwarube Says SA Is Nowhere Near Solving Gender-Based Violence

• The Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, bemoaned that the country is still nowhere near finding a solution to gender-based violence and femicide
• She spoke after delivering the Uyinene Mrwetyana Memorial Lecture commemorating the death of Mrwetyana, who was murdered in 2019
• Gender-based violence activist Vanessa Govender weighed in and spoke to Briefly News about GBV

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered criminal activities, cash-in-transit heists, police investigations, police shootouts and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

MAKHANDA, EASTERN CAPE — The Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, said on 31 March 2025 in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, that the county is still battling to resolve the issue of gender-based violence.

What did Siviwe Gwarube say?

Gwarube was speaking at the Uyinene Mrwetyana Commemorative Lecture at Kingswood College in Makhanda, Eastern Cape. The lecture commemorated the death of Mrwetyana, who was murdered in Cape Town in the Western Cape in 2019.

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She touched on the recent rape of the seven year-old Bergview College learner in the Eastern Cape. She said that schools have to be places of safety and learning, and it cannot be that they are violated in the way she was violated.

She said there has been little movement made in terms of resolving gender-based violence.

"Six years later (after the murder of Mrwetyana) we are nowhere near being able today we are resolving the issue of gender based violence in schools. We have to be proactive," she said.

She said some of the resolutions involve cultural changes in society. She added that the government must ensure that all people who come into contact with children in schools must be vetted against the National Sex Offenders Registry. The National Sex Offenders Registry was officially made public on 1 March this year.

Vanessa Govender speaks to Briefly News

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Speaking to Briefly News, GBV activist Vanessa Govender said the power of the community cannot be underestimated in resolving GBV. She said there is strength in numbers.

"For along as good people do nothing, this evil will prevail," she said.

South Africans slam government

Netizens commenting on eNCA's Facebook post pointed their fingers at the government.

Madeleine Liddle sid:

"I blame the government. If they protected the citizens and made everyone feel safe and addressed the real issue of crime, none of this would have happened. We have one of the biggest crime rates, and they still want to deny it."

Kabelo Mphele Bogopa said:

"Lack of leadership is being exposed in this case. Our statue minister doesn't have an action plan on this matter."

Brazo Walekhosi Brazo said:

"A seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped at school, and no one was arrested. The principal is refusing for his DNA samples to be taken, but the minister of education is quiet about it."

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Christiaan Stewartt said:

"This one doesn't even understand what she's doing in the department of education."

Teenager raped by teacher in Polokwane

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the South African Police Service is looking for a 58-year-old teacher who allegedly raped a learner in Polokwane, Limpopo. The incidents happened from November last year to 7 March this year.

The parent of the girl opened a case aginst the teacher. He was supposed to present himself at the police station, but he ran away. The provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, condemned the incidents.

Source: Briefly News