Hundreds of women wearing black gathered in a Johannesburg park on Friday, one day before the start of the Group of 20 summit, to stage a 15-minute lie-down protest symbolizing the 15 lives lost daily to gender-based violence in South Africa.
South Africa, while putting forward a progressive agenda on gender issues during its G20 presidency, has a femicide rate that is five times higher than the global average, according to UN Women, and has grappled with the problem for decades.
Organized by the nonprofit group Women for Change, the protest was the culmination of a month of lobbying and pressure from the group asking the South African government to take action.
In response, the government on Friday declared gender-based violence a national disaster, a move that orders authorities to take action and dedicate resources to combat it.
Read more here.
South African Women Stage Lie-Down Protest Against Gender-Based Violence Ahead of G20 Summit
11/21/2025
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We work side by side with victims to obtain acknowledgment and redress for massive human rights violations, hold those responsible to account, reform and build democratic institutions, and prevent the recurrence of violence or repression.