Speaker, the multiparty women's caucus also wants to add its voice to the growing number of voices condemning the upsurge in sexual violence acts perpetrated against the most vulnerable in our society, women and children.
We acknowledge that, whilst we are a progressive government with progressive legislation which focuses on women empowerment, we need to ensure that implementation is effective. As part of our oversight role and in making sure that we address this scourge of violence against women and children, we have resolved to ensure mainstreaming of gender across portfolios responsible for dealing with gender-based violence and to introduce a gender budget analysis to ensure that the issue of violence against women is truly a funded mandate.
At a business planning session of the multiparty women's caucus recently, we undertook to take decisive action on violence against women, children and men. To this end, the multiparty women's caucus and the Portfolio Committee on Women, Children and People with Disabilities, in collaboration with the provincial and district multiparty women's caucus, will host a round table to discuss improving the implementation of legislative provisions that are in place - for example, in the Domestic Violence Act - closing legislative gaps where they exist, as well as working with the committees of Parliament to oversee effective implementation and budgeting of the programmes to decrease gender-based violence.
This multi-stakeholder event will involve Members of Parliament, civil society and other relevant stakeholders. It will be hosted in the hope that, collectively, we can rid South Africa of the blight of violence, especially against women and children. We intend convening this event in the first week of the second term. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]