Gauteng province completes 21 directives to combat gender based violence

The Gauteng Provincial Government in South Africa has completed 21 of 67 directives intended to improve the regional response to gender based violence and femicide.

Premier Panyaza Lesufi released this update 33 days into a 90 day period established by President Cyril Ramaphosa to address the national crisis. The government added a fifth priority to the original four national directives to focus on increasing support services for survivors.

The provincial government recovered crime kits from Thuthuzela Care Centres across five districts and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory. To prevent evidence loss, investigating officers must now carry these kits to medical examinations. The province also created an Identification Task Team to perform a digital fingerprint audit of unidentified women and children. Officials are prioritizing DNA and forensic samples from rape and murder cases. Municipalities in the region are conducting safety audits that are 60% to 80% complete.

In Johannesburg, officials mapped risk zones and prepared 10 hijacked or illegally occupied buildings for public use. In Tshwane, workers cleared overgrown vegetation near high risk transit stations, and Ekurhuleni inspected local taxi ranks to repair broken CCTV systems. The government plans to repair hazards identified in these audits within 90 days. Authorities also inspected 7322 liquor outlets to crack down on alcohol related violence. These inspections led to 20 closures and 459 non compliance notices.

The province currently operates 18 shelters with 363 beds and seven Thuthuzela Care Centres. While the government reported progress, officials acknowledged that forensic backlogs and recovering outstanding case information remain ongoing challenges.