GBV group calls for urgent action after Pietermaritzburg girl’s murder
The murder of nine-year-old Nonjabulwenhle Nzimande highlights GBV response failures and calls for stronger protection systems.
An anti-gender-based-violence organisation says the murder of a nine-year-old girl in Pietermaritzburg has exposed serious shortcomings in South Africa's response to women and children at risk.
Police are investigating the murder of Nonjabulwenhle Nzimande, who went missing on Sunday.
The child's body was found in a veld near her home.
Police say she was strangled.
Local councillor Sibusiso Mkhize says the area needs more visible policing and high-mast lighting to help prevent similar crimes.
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Celeste Louw from the TEARS Foundation says poor coordination and weak implementation are undermining the country's GBV response.
" We need more boots on the ground. It's all very well and good to have that analysis, to have that legislation, to have all of that, but it's not being implemented. So the streetlight never goes up, the grass never gets cut, and the incidents carry on occurring. That is the kind of thing that needs to be addressed with immediate effect."
The foundation is calling for an independent body to oversee the GBV response, improve accountability and ensure funding reaches services that directly support survivors.
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