{
  "id": 19669846,
  "title": "Gender-responsive budgeting failing women as social grant cuts deepen inequality",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/gender-responsive-budgeting-failing-women-as-social-grant-cuts-deepen",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-12T15:56:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Maverick",
    "slug": "daily-maverick",
    "url": "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2026-11-12-gender-responsive-budgeting-failing-women-as-social-grant-cuts-deepen-inequality/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The government of South Africa has pledged a substantial gender-responsive budget exceeding a quarter of a trillion rand, but this pledge is undermined by cuts to social grants, exacerbating women's vulnerability. The R342.1-billion figure earmarked for gender-priority interventions is intended to address gender disparities across various sectors, targeting women as beneficiaries. However, the effectiveness of these allocations remains uncertain, as there is no clear evidence that they produce better outcomes for women's lives. The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, introduced in 2019, aims to mainstream gender into all government systems, yet it lacks specific indicators, targets, and measurable outcomes. The annual Gender Budget Statement highlights issues such as severe food insecurity among women-headed households and low labour force participation, yet it does not examine how spending addresses intersecting structural conditions like unpaid care work, economic exclusion, sexism, and patriarchal norms. Recently, the National Treasury announced a reprioritised R5.1-billion allocation for gender-based violence and femicide, driven by national grief over the discovery of 12 women's bodies in Ekurhuleni. The allocation includes funds for social workers, criminal justice response, strengthening the Department of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities, and expanding sexual offences courts, Thuthuzela care centres, and GBV shelters. While recruiting 3,552 social workers is necessary, ensuring they operate in well-resourced environments is crucial to deliver measurable change. However, social workers face challenges such as low remuneration, dangerous work conditions, and occupational burnout, which compromise care. The Department of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities has suffered chronic implementation failures, leading to unspent funds, including R54.7-million, and NGOs providing critical services closing due to insufficient funding. The R13-billion cut from social grants, intended to free up money for GBV interventions, has disproportionately affected women, with many losing their lifelines due to bureaucratic hurdles.",
  "summary": "The government has promised a huge gender-responsive budget, but it is full of contradictions and is offset by cuts in social grants that will deepen women’s vulnerability.",
  "key_points": [
    "Gender-responsive budget exceeds R242.1 billion but social grants cuts undermine it.",
    "No clear evidence social grant allocations improve women's lives.",
    "R13 billion social grant cut disproportionately affects women."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}