Women For Change operations manager Merlize Jogiat said repeated government promises on gender-based violence are wearing activists out. She spoke after President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Tuesday.
Ramaphosa’s address dealt with gender-based violence and femicide. It followed the killings of women in Ekurhuleni, IOL reported.
“The South African government has used every abusive tactic in the book,” Jogiat said.
She said the newest tactic was to wear people down. “The one that I realised earlier today, they finally used on us, is the ‘drag it out until they’re exhausted and they can’t do anything about it’,” she said.
In his address, Ramaphosa acknowledged the country’s anger and grief, IOL reported. He conceded that existing efforts had not been enough. He also announced a new set of measures.
Jogiat said she had heard the same message before. She said she had reached a point where it was hard to find the energy to voice her frustration.
“I’m so tired from the same rhetoric that I’m too tired to say or complain about the fact that it’s the same rhetoric,” she said.
She compared the pattern to abusive tactics in which a person is worn down until they can no longer resist. She said repeated speeches and unanswered questions could have the same effect on the public.
According to IOL, activists fear the new commitments will become another set of promises without enough action. Jogiat said activists believe many of the promises will not materialise.
She said the result could be a public so tired of disappointment that it struggles to keep demanding change. Her concern is that the cycle of announcements and let-downs could drain activists and ordinary South Africans.
That could leave them unable to keep demanding accountability, she said.
The address came amid renewed public anger over the Ekurhuleni killings, IOL reported. People have demanded that the government move from statements of concern to action that can be measured and monitored.
IOL reported that every unresolved murder leaves families waiting for answers. Stalled investigations can prolong their grief, the report said.
The report said failed promises can also deepen mistrust between affected communities and the institutions meant to protect them.
Jogiat described what she sees as a decade of repeated speeches and promises. “If I could list the amount of abusive tactics that we have seen from this government, I think this is starting to be the new effective one,” she said.
Her appeal was about more than criticism of the President’s latest address. She wanted people to recognise a pattern that she said can weaken collective resistance.
Jogiat urged South Africans to educate themselves about abusive tactics. She also asked them to examine how power works in the systems that govern their lives.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL. Image: IOL. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.