Cricket South Africa has extended its commitment to bat and bowl against gender-based violence in South Africa.

On Wednesday, CSA announced an all-encompassing campaign titled #ENDGBV to run throughout the 2022-23 season.

The campaign was born out of the Proteas Women’s annual Black Day, on which the team wear all-black kit in a match to shed light on a critical societal issue facing South Africans today.

GBV does not discriminate, and can affect or be committed by any person regardless of their race, age, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

The most prevalent form of GBV in South Africa is abuse against women and children. According to Unicef South Africa, 243 children and 855 women were murdered between April and June this year, while a further 1,670 children were victims of grievous bodily harm, a 58% increase from the same period in 2022.

All 31 senior domestic South African sides across men and women’s cricket will showcase the hashtag on the back of their 2022-23 kits, and be joined by CSA pipeline teams before the end of the season.

“Gender-based violence is a scourge that has affected many South Africans from all walks of life for far too long in our society and as the custodians of the multicultural and diverse cricketing community, the #ENDGBV campaign is of huge importance in ensuring cricket is a safe and accessible environment,” said CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki.

“It’s going to take a joint drive from the entire cricketing family to not only raise awareness of this plague but to also commit to playing a crucial role in helping to eradicate GBV from our communities and the pledge speaks precisely to that.”