Women on Farms wants govt to double down after classifying GBV a national disaster

As 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children continues, a feminist organisation working with women farmworkers is calling for full follow through from government after it classified gender-based violence (GBV) a national disaster.

Women on Farms said government funding must reach rural communities where support is scarce.

Isolation, landlessness, seasonal work, poverty and deep systemic failures have been listed as some of the reasons women farmworkers face some of the harshest forms of GBV.

COGTA: GBVF's classification as national disaster doesn't grant govt access to emergency powers, funds

Police in the area said that they are improving visibility and encouraging victims to use WhatsApp and direct lineswhen station phones ring unanswered, but activists like Lenishia Frank from Women on Farms Project argued that these efforts fall short without proper, sustained funding.

“Farms are quite far and distant - how will women access help if there are no police vans? You will find the woman dead the next day.

"So, we are asking government that these funds not just fly away, but that they actually be used to respond to this disaster.”

Activists said they are filling gaps left by under-resourced police and social services but without long-term investment, women will remain unprotected.