Women For Change, a South African organisation advocating against gender-based violence and femicide, is facing renewed online scrutiny ahead of its planned November sit-down protest. Questions are being raised over the organisation's financial transparency and programme delivery. This comes after content creator Brown Rodrigues took to social media to revisit concerns she first raised in 2025, following the release of new Women For Change public financial statements.
Rodrigues alleges that her previous questions were dismissed and that she was offered a refund for her donation instead of having her concerns addressed. In a video circulating online, she questions the organisation's financial reporting, citing a discrepancy between funds reflected on its BackaBuddy crowdfunding page and those reflected in its 2025 financial statements. Rodrigues claims that the organisation's financial statements show R32,000 in donations, while the crowdfunding page shows R585,305 and R391,390 in offline donations.
Rodrigues also questions the allocation of funds, specifically staff salaries, which she claims increased from R19,050 to R138,544 in 2025. She further alleges that the organisation's survivor support line is not operational 24/7 as advertised, but rather only on weekdays. This has sparked concerns about the organisation's ability to provide support to victims of gender-based violence.
The conversation has expanded to include other social media users, who are questioning whether Women For Change is effectively assisting women on the ground. One user, Sihle, commented that she started questioning the organisation's motives after it refused to post about a child from Lesotho, citing that she wasn't South African. Rodrigues claims that she raised similar concerns last year, but the organisation did not respond.
This is not the first time Women For Change has faced public criticism. Last year, content creator Blaine Fortuin, known as Tattooed Papi, raised similar questions on social media. Women For Change instituted multiple defamation claims against Fortuin following what it described as the publication of unsubstantiated statements. The organisation's founder, Sabrina Walter, rejected claims that Women For Change was not registered and that it profited financially from donations.
Walter previously stated that spreading misinformation against an organisation fighting for women's lives is not activism, but rather harms survivors. Despite this, the organisation has not provided clear answers to the concerns raised by Rodrigues and others. The renewed scrutiny comes ahead of Women For Change's planned November sit-down protest, which aims to bring attention to the issue of gender-based violence in South Africa.
The organisation previously led a national shutdown in November 2025, which drew more than 850,000 signatures in support. However, the current concerns over financial transparency and programme delivery may impact the organisation's credibility and ability to effectively advocate for victims of gender-based violence.
Key points
- Women For Change faces renewed scrutiny over financial transparency and programme delivery ahead of planned protest.
- Concerns raised over discrepancy in financial statements and allocation of funds.
- Organisation's credibility and ability to advocate for victims of gender-based violence may be impacted.
