The Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has today adopted the A-list and B-list of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF) Bill. The Bill was tabled in Parliament and referred to the committee on 11 October 2022. It was classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism as a section 75 Bill.
The committee received its first briefing on the NCGBVF Bill from the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities on 28 February 2023. In facilitating effective public participation on the NCGBVF Bill, the committee conducted in-person and virtual public hearings on 6 and 13 June 2023. 17 oral submissions were heard by the committee during these hearings.
The committee received oral submissions from individuals, various groups and organisations such as academics, civil society organisations, one statutory body, business sector experts and one labour union. In addition to the public hearings, the committee received 52 written submissions from the public. The written submissions were submitted electronically (via email) and online.
The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities responded to the issues raised during the public hearings on 29 August, 5 and 12 September 2023, and thereafter the committee was briefed by the department on 19 September 2023 on the revised Bill as a working document, with further inputs received from the members of the committee made in the meeting held on 12 September 2023.
The committee also deliberated clause-by-clause on the Bill with respect to the amendments made. Furthermore, it deliberated clause-by-clause on the Bill in its entirety on 27 September 2023. The committee accepted and adopted its report on the Bill on 29 September 2023. The report will be tabled in the National Assembly for its consideration and thereafter it will be referred to the National Council of Provinces for further processing before it goes to the President for assent into law.
The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Nonhlanhla Ncube-Ndaba, thanked members of the committee for their insightful contributions on the views of the people on the Bill. “Your dedication and contributions delivered the report we are proud of and which we pass to the National Assembly with full confidence. The establishment of the Council would be an necessary milestone for the country in the fight against GBVF,” said Ms Ncube-Ndaba.
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