The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Men Ambassadors is hosting a silent picket in Pretoria to mark the start of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign.

The picket, under the theme Men of the NPA against GBVF, aims to demonstrate the NPA’s commitment to combating GBVF and promoting justice.

Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Anton du Plessis, is expected to deliver the keynote address at the event.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions at the NPA’s National Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit, Dr Mkhuseli Jokani, says GBV cases can be traumatic to victims.

“As prosecutors, we deal with these cases on a day-to-day basis, and we have seen the devastation that has been caused by GBV to victims, most particularly to women and children. And therefore, it is within that context that we felt that through the office of the National Director to take this principled position to say that as men of the NPA, we are taking a stand to ensure that we would protect the women of our country against GBV and no more will we ever keep silent with regard to GBV – both outside of our professional scope and also as members of society.”

They ran in solidarity with survivors, fellow government departments and women who are championing the fight against GBV, advocating for an end to GBV and promoting positive masculinity.#16DaysOfActivism #StopGBVF#NPAMenAgainstGBVF

📷NPA/Nokuthula Makhupula pic.twitter.com/fb9hipGMhy

— NPASouthAfrica (@NPA_Prosecutes) November 25, 2025

The NPA says it has started specialised  GBV training for all prosecutors to ensure sensitivity and efficacy when handling GBV cases.

This follows public concerns about the NPA’s ability to prosecute GBV cases, particularly after the acquittal of Nigerian televangelist, Timothy Omotoso.

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The NPA says its GBV sensitivity training aims to teach prosecutors about the various forms of GBV, while implementing strategies to ensure that all GBV cases are properly investigated and successfully prosecuted.

Jokani says prosecutors will be trained in all forms of GBV.

“We’ve already started with a number of prosecutors last month and we are going to proceed with a second batch of prosecutors by the end of this month. And hopefully, by the end of the financial year, we would have trained all 800 prosecutors on GBV broadly. And we have learnt our lesson with the high-profile cases, the ones we have lost, on where we needed to improve and we are busy ensuring that we improve the gaps that we have found within the prosecution.”

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