Women’s rights organisations in South Africa are planning a peaceful protest calling for sexual violence to be formally recognised as a national crisis. The campaign, which began on social media, is set to take place ahead of the G20 summit.

Activists have chosen purple as the movement’s symbolic colour, with several celebrities showing support by posting the colour on their social media accounts.

South Africa has some of the world’s highest rates of sexual assault. United Nations data indicates women in the country are murdered at a rate five times higher than the global average. National crime statistics show that from January to March 2025, 137 women were murdered and over 1,000 were raped.

President Cyril Ramaphosa noted that sexual violence and femicide were declared a national crisis in 2019. The planned protest underscores growing public pressure on authorities to accelerate measures against gender-based violence.