A world without sexual violence:
Survivors’ film calls on world leaders to act against child sexual abuse ahead of G20
As South Africa prepares to host the G20 Summit this month, survivors of childhood sexual violence are demanding that world leaders take action. Their message comes through My Justice, My Voice, a new short film launched this October by the Brave Movement and partners, which amplifies survivor voices and highlights the urgent need to end sexual violence against children.
Co-produced with survivors, the film follows three women — Sheila, Jacque, and her daughter Thabile — as they share their stories of abuse, survival and resilience. It also explores the intergenerational impact of sexual violence and the lifelong effects of trauma, including for children conceived through rape, as Thabile was.
The women are using their stories to demand global action. At the Cape Town premiere in October, Sheila explained that while she did not receive justice through the courts, participating in the film represents a reclamation of power. “My power was taken from me through multiple assaults, beginning when I was just seven years old,” she said. “This film gives me a voice again.”
Thabile, who did see her perpetrator convicted, spoke about the fear that lingers even when justice is served: “In my case, the perpetrator got bail, and I don’t know how he found my house, but he was there, looking for me. I had to run inside and call the cops. When you give them bail, you give them power to instil fear.”
She says survivors of sexual violence must be protected. “If we care about ending violence, then we must care equally about what happens after the violence,” she said.
During her keynote address at the launch, Deputy Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities in the National Executive, Mmapaseka Steve Letsike, highlighted the cost of inaction.
“We’ve calculated the lifelong cost of not doing this work and, in economic terms, it comes to the equivalent of 8.1% of our GDP — approximately US$ 33 billion,” she said. “For every R100 our country produces, R8 is drained away through the consequences of neglecting health, education and the safety of our youth.”
This underscores what experts have long argued — that violence against children is not only a moral crisis, but an economic one.
Emily Laurie is the Senior Director for Global Campaigns at the Brave Movement. She expanded on this point, noting that the G20 — an economic forum of the world’s largest economies — has a direct role to play.
“There is a substantive cost to individuals, but also to countries and to the global economy,” Laurie said. “We’ve found that US$ 7 trillion could be saved if violence against children ended — the equivalent of the economy of the world’s third-richest nation. Ending violence is both the smart and the right thing to do.”
For Rays of Hope, which has been working in Alexandra, Johannesburg, since 1991, the collaboration provided an opportunity to reflect on its own data. “We found that seven out of ten of our participants are vulnerable to child sexual abuse because of the environments they live in,” said Charmaine Seloma, Stakeholder Relations Manager at the organisation.
She added that while reports and statistics are necessary, they can never replace the power of lived experience: “Having survivors tell their stories strengthens our case as community-based organisations. A report doesn’t have a face, but a survivor does. Seeing the impact on someone’s life, on families and communities — that’s how you measure real change.”
The film’s production was spearheaded by On Our Radar, an award-winning storytelling agency comprising journalists, filmmakers and community practitioners. Using a trauma-informed, participatory process, survivors co-wrote scripts, shaped the narratives and reviewed edits to ensure their voices guided the story.
Through this process, My Justice, My Voice highlights three urgent areas for government intervention: adopting trauma-informed policies, funding survivor-centred services and prioritising the prevention of sexual violence — both online and offline.
South Africa, which will host the G20 Summit in November, has some of the world’s highest rates of child sexual abuse. Advocates hope the film’s message will push leaders to commit to stronger protections and funding mechanisms to end violence against children.
The film ends with a powerful appeal from Sheila: “To our world leaders, we need you to join hands across countries and fight this scourge of sexual violence, especially against children. They are our future”. For more information about the campaign and to watch the film, visit www.bravement.org.
Mchunu was correct to disband unit but failed to consult, says acting police minister Cachalia:
Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia told parliament’s ad hoc committee on police corruption that suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu may have had valid reasons to disband the KwaZulu-Natal political killings task team, but he erred by failing to consult or properly communicate his decision.
“But on this matter I think he was correct to the extent that he was emphasising the fact that this decision was a political decision,” he said.
Cachalia said that while the team had achieved success in curbing political assassinations, Mchunu’s unilateral directive reflected a breakdown of trust between him and National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola.
“There was a lack of mutual respect and communication between Mchunu and National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola,” he added.
He said there could have been sound reasons to disband the KZN task team, but Mchunu did not consult or communicate his decision inappropriately.
On Tuesday, Deputy Police Minister Shela Boshielo said she learnt of Mchunu’s disbandment letter on social media and later received a call from the suspended minister confirming that he had written it. Co-Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale and former police minister Bheki Cele told the committee about the same lack of consultation.
Cachalia said “task teams are not immortal” and “subject to budgetary decisions and changes of priorities”.
“So from my point of view, it is not that the minister took the view that the task team should be disbanded, it’s the process that was followed,” said Cachalia.
He told MPs he had received a report from Masemola after his appointment in August 2025, recommending that the task team continue and that “similar capacity needs to be developed” in other provinces.
“I was quite happy with [Masemola’s] recommendation, that was contained in his written report that the team should not be dismantled in the current moment.”
Cachalia commended the task team’s innovative investigative methods but reiterated Mchunu’s remarks that internal capacity within SAPS should be built to do the work the task team is doing.
“We certainly need, on a national basis, to respond to this problem of the involvement of cartels, infiltrating our institutions, increasingly emboldened, quite prepared to assassinate people,” said Cachalia.
Cachalia said the task team had been successful precisely because it adopted an “integrated approach” to investigating political violence — something often lacking in the South African Police Service (SAPS) operations.
“The criminal justice cluster always struggles to overcome the silo problem — to get different parts of the system working together to tackle a challenge,” he said.
Asked whether Mchunu’s December 2024 instruction to “immediately” disband the task team amounted to corruption or political interference, Cachalia declined to speculate.
“I cannot put myself in the position of my predecessor, and I don’t think it’ll be appropriate for me to second-guess the decisions he made,” he said.
“Mchunu’s decision to disband the task team may have been made in good faith; however, in hindsight, there ought to have been consultation with colleagues in the cabinet whose judgment about the disbandment of such a team would have been essential.”
Cachalia said the Madlanga Commission and the parliamentary inquiry could mark a turning point for the embattled police service.
“My view is that the South African Police Service is going through a very difficult period and the inquiry you are conducting and the Madlanga Commission will be a moment of some difficulty for the country because we are being exposed to testimony that is very disconcerting,” he said.
He said government was now developing a new organised crime strategy, currently being tested in the Western Cape and three other provinces.
“We are working on an organised crime strategy. We are testing it out in the Western Cape and three other provinces, this integrated strategy, and as I said, we learnt a lot from the [KZN task team],” said Cachalia.
Cachalia also reflected on KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s public comments, saying his July 2024 media briefing in military uniform — where he accused Mchunu and Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya of protecting cartels — “worried” him.
However, Cachalia said that if Mkhwanazi’s allegations of corruption within SAPS are proven true, he should be recognised as a whistleblower.
“Should his allegations be sustained, then Mkhwanazi would be vindicated as a whistleblower,” he said.
Cachalia said the two parallel police inquiries provide a moment to reset SAPS.
“As we move into a process of resetting SAPS, I hope that will be the outcome of the ad hoc committee process and the Madlanga Commission — to help the country understand what has happened and find a way forward.”
He added that detective services were underperforming, crime intelligence needed an upgrade, and the criminal justice system must adopt a more unified approach to tackling organised crime.
“I think there’s some conversation to be had on how to assure alignment and integration in the criminal justice system,” he said.
Tanzania’s post-election violence raises doubts over credibility of 2025 polls:
Tanzania’s 2025 general elections have triggered outrage and mourning after violent clashes between protesters and security forces left hundreds dead and thousands injured in what observers describe as the country’s worst post-election unrest in decades.
Authorities have not released an official death toll, but unconfirmed reports suggest the number of fatalities could exceed 1 000.
Families across major cities have reported missing relatives — mostly young men — since violence erupted on October 29 during polling.
The situation has returned to normal in different parts of the country after President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s inauguration on Saturday, with military presence in the streets visible.
Police spokesperson David Misime blamed “foreign instigators” for the chaos.
However, eyewitnesses and civic groups have accused the security forces of using excessive force to suppress post-election demonstrations.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Suluhu, 65, the winner with 97.66% of the vote, extending the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party’s unbroken rule since independence in 1961.
The landslide win, coupled with widespread allegations of fraud, has fuelled scepticism about the vote’s credibility and the independence of electoral institutions.
In her victory speech on Saturday, Samia defended the process, calling it “free and democratic,” while condemning protesters as “unpatriotic”.
“The incidents that occurred in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza, Mbeya, and Songwe were neither civil nor patriotic. Patriotism is about building the nation, not destroying it,” she said in Dodoma, vowing that security agencies would “investigate and examine in detail what happened”.
But rights groups and regional observer missions painted a starkly different picture. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) observer team, led by former Malawi Speaker Richard Msowoya, concluded that the elections “fell short of regional standards,” citing widespread intimidation and obstruction of monitors.
The mission documented instances where officials confiscated observer credentials and restricted access to polling centres.
Similar criticisms came from the European Union (EU) and the European Parliament, which described the elections as “neither free nor fair.”
In a joint statement, the EU said, “The fraud did not begin at the ballot box — it has been unfolding for months,” referring to intimidation of opposition figures, abductions, disappearances, and media restrictions.
Ahead of the polls, the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) had confirmed at least 83 abductions since Hassan took office in 2021, with another 20 reported in the weeks leading up to the vote.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Tundu Lissu continues to face treason charges — an ongoing case the European Parliament called “a demonstration of the collapse of democratic values and judicial independence”.
The main opposition party, Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), which boycotted the polls, has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations to investigate what it termed “mass killings” during and after the elections.
The unrest paralysed businesses, disrupted transport, and prompted authorities to impose curfews in several cities.
The government also restricted access to social media platforms, which were later flooded with graphic videos of the violence once services were restored. Police have since warned citizens against sharing such footage.
Samia was sworn in on 3 November in a low-key ceremony at the Chamwino Military Parade Grounds in Dodoma. She dismissed international criticism as “distortions” aimed at undermining Tanzania’s sovereignty, urging citizens to remain calm and respect the outcome.
Out of 18 registered political parties, 17 fielded presidential candidates. The Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo) boycotted the race after its candidate, Luhaga Mpina, was disqualified.
Analysts warn that the government’s heavy-handed response risks deepening political polarisation and eroding public trust in democratic institutions.
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