By: Amie Sillito/GICJ
South Africa was recently under a microscopic lens in relation to women’s rights, gender-based violence and femicide. The representative of South Africa, Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, emphasised that the government remains resolute in its commitment to address challenges faced by women in the country. The representative highlighted recent progressive reforms which include the Domestic violence amendment bill and the criminal law sexual offences and related matters bill which they hope will bolster the fight to end discrimination and violence against women. Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane revealed that the government is focused on outlawing the practice of early forced child marriages and enforcing legislation to protect women and children.
These observations were made at the recent conference for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women which took place on the 5th of November 2021. The Committee noted that the country has succeeded in drafting legislation to enhance and protect women’s rights, however it has not been implemented effectively. Despite efforts to eradicate patriarchal attitudes, which are the cause of discrimination, women are still expected to perform domestic roles and are less likely to be employed in the formal sector. Girls and women make up higher rates of secondary school dropouts and unemployed persons and forced virginity testing is still a common practice despite the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 being implemented.
South Africa was praised by the Committee for its progressive Constitution which enables formal equality for the protection for women. The country was also commended on its efforts to achieve gender equality and eradicate gender stereotypes which restrict women’s rights. However, alarming statistics were provided indicating femicide occurs in South Africa five times the global average, or one woman every three hours. On average, women are raped every thirteen minutes and the statistics do not appear to be in decline. Marginalised women such as refugees are seen as high-risk for abuse and exploitation, and many women fail to report sexual crimes due to the lack of action taken by police. Corruption was also brought to the forefront of the discussion, especially in circumstances involving human trafficking where officials often fail to protect victims and participate in the exploitation of women’s rights.
Cases of gender-based violence decreased during the COVID-19 lockdown, attributable to the ban on the sale of alcohol in South Africa. This indicates a that there is a correlation between substance abuse and gender-based violence which needs to be addressed urgently. Statistics for child sexual abuse indicate abuse occurs at an average age of between ten and fifteen years which substantially increased during the pandemic and resulted in many teenage pregnancies.
Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) commends South Africa on legislative and other measures taken to ensure gender equality and tackle the gender-based violence epidemic. We are troubled by the high levels of gender-based violence, predominantly perpetrated by victims’ partners and the high rates of femicide. It is imperative that the South African government focuses on educating civil society about these issues alongside the current implementation of legislation to protect women’s rights and safety. Government must implement preventative measures to change societal attitudes and ensure substantive equality is realised for all women.
Justice, Human rights, Geneva, geneva4justice, GICJ, Geneva International Centre For Justice
