21/11/2025
A nationwide gender-based violence (GBV) shutdown is currently taking place across South Africa today, Friday, November 21, 2025. The movement, led by the advocacy group Women for Change, demands that GBV and femicide be declared a national disaster.
Key Details of the Shutdown
The G20 Women's Shutdown is a collective action, not a traditional march, intended to demonstrate the significant economic and social impact of women's absence and demand urgent government action.
Key aspects of the shutdown include:
Withdrawing Labour and Spending: Participants (women, girls, and LGBTQI+ individuals) were encouraged to refrain from all paid and unpaid work and to avoid spending money for the entire day.
Wearing Black and Purple: Wearing black symbolizes mourning and resistance, while purple is used in solidarity to highlight the cause on social media under hashtags like and .
15-Minute Silent Standstill: At 12:00 PM, participants across the country held a 15-minute silent lie-down in public spaces or at home to honor the approximately 15 women murdered every day in South Africa.
Online Presence: Changing social media profile pictures to purple and sharing information amplifies the message online.
Allies: Men are encouraged to participate as allies by supporting women taking time off, amplifying the message, and using their voices to challenge other men.
Government Response
Amid intensifying pressure from the shutdown and public concern, the South African government has officially classified gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster. The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs confirmed that this classification, made under the Disaster Management Act, requires all state organs to activate and strengthen existing contingency plans to address the crisis effectively.
This move means the government will rely on the existing National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NSP) 2020-2030, which focuses on prevention, justice, response, and accountability, rather than invoking emergency powers.
The Crisis in South Africa
The shutdown highlights South Africa's alarmingly high rates of GBV and femicide:
A woman is murdered every 2.5 to 3 hours.
The country's femicide rate is five to six times higher than the global average.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, 5,578 women and 1,656 children were killed.
