Protesters Stage Sit-In at Johannesburg Bourse Over Gender Crime

(Bloomberg) -- Hundreds of protesters staged a sit-in at the entrance to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to call for an end to gender-based violence in South Africa.

The demonstration, which began before dawn on Friday, disrupted traffic in the country’s main economic hub of Sandton. It’s the latest in a series of protests triggered by the rape and murder of a 19-year-old university student in Cape Town last month.

Crime statistics released on Thursday show 2,771 women were murdered in South Africa in the 12 months through March. The number of reported rapes rose 3.9% to 41,583 in the period.

“We should all be hanging our heads in shame,” said Cas Coovadia, managing director of the Banking Association of South Africa. “From the banking sector’s point of view we identify with the cause people are peacefully sitting in front of the JSE for and we condemn violence against women and children in the strongest terms possible.”

The organizers of the protest, a group of civil-rights organizations known as Call-to-Action, called for businesses in Sandton to shut down for the day in support of their cause. In a memorandum handed to JSE Chief Executive Officer Nicky Newton-King, they called for a 2% profit tax to be imposed on companies listed on the exchange to fund campaigns against gender-based violence and femicide.

The protest hasn’t affected the JSE’s operations, marketing director Zanele Morrison said in an emailed response to questions.

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