KZN Premier
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli has called on men who harm women and children to be held accountable, launching the province’s 16 Days of Activism campaign. He urged men to use words instead of violence and warned that addiction fuels much of the festive-season abuse.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli has taken a firm stance against violence directed at women and children, urging communities to hold men who commit these acts fully accountable. Speaking in Durban at the launch of the province’s 16 Days of Activism campaign, he called on men to confront conflict without resorting to aggression and to reject alcohol and drug abuse, which he said fuel much of the violence seen during the festive season.
Ntuli said the province is moving away from symbolic short-term awareness drives and is instead building a year-long programme that tracks perpetrators and strengthens prevention efforts. As part of this push, more than six hundred traditional leaders will take an active role in community-level campaigns, while taxi associations, churches and other social institutions are being enlisted to promote respect and non-violence.
He highlighted the growing demand for protection services, noting that KwaZulu-Natal already has twenty-one shelters for abused women and children, thirty-one White Door safe spaces and a newly opened Khuseleka centre in Zululand. In the most recent quarter alone, close to twenty-six thousand survivors received psychosocial support through provincial programmes.
The premier warned that abuse is not a private matter but a crime that requires collective intervention. With the festive season approaching and substance abuse expected to rise, he urged communities to remain vigilant and proactive, saying the safety of women and children depends on men taking responsibility for their behaviour and society refusing to look away.
