Sonke Gender Justice

News Category: Sonke News

  • Sign the petition to end child marriages in Tanzania

    Tanzania has one of the highest child marriage prevalence rates in the world. On average 36% of the girls aged 20-24 were married before age 18 [Tanzania Demographic & Health Survey 2015/16]. Discriminatory Law of Marriage Act (1971) allows for boys to marry at 18 and girls at 14 and 15 of age.

    The Tanzania Ending Child Marriage Network is petitioning for the amendment of the Law of Marriage Act of 1971: To the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania.

    The Tanzania Law of Marriage Act, of 1971 [CAP 29 RE 2002] sets the minimum age at 18 for boys and 15 for girls with parental consent to marry. It also permits girls to marry at the age of 14 with the court’s permission. This makes girls more vulnerable to violence and deprives them of their most basic rights such as education and right to good health. Hence, we petition to the Government to amend section 13 and 17 of the Law of the Marriage Act and raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 for both girls and boys.

    Sign the petition here.

  • Sonke opposes the Global Gag Rule – Our principles are not for sale

    The Global Gag Rule instituted by Donald Trump a year ago “prohibits U.S. global health assistance from being provided to foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that perform abortion in cases other than a threat to the life of the woman, rape or incest; provide counseling (including advice or information) and/or referral for abortion; or lobby to make abortion legal or more available in their own country, even if these activities are performed with funding from other, non-U.S. government (USG), sources” (from PAI). Health care workers in South Africa have a duty to counsel and refer women for abortion services under current South African law, and the Rule would not apply in these situations (see amfAR and CHANGE “The Implications of the Expanded U.S. Mexico City Policy in South Africa“)

    Sonke has chosen not to sign the Global Gag Rule because we know the costs it represents to women’s health and lives in South Africa and across the continent and the world.

    This means we, like many other organisations, can not apply for funding currently on offer from the US Government to address gender based violence and HIV, even though we’ve now built very strong evidence from many studies that our work decreases levels of gender based violence, increases people’s use of HIV services and strengthens their commitment to take local action to address GBV and HIV.

    We have attempted to ameliorate the effects of the GGR by applying for an exemption from the Policy. We wrote to Secretary of the US Department of State, Rex Tillerson on 12 February 2018, requesting that we are exempted from the Policy.  We have received no reply to date.

    Sonke remains committed to advocating for access to safe and legal abortion as guaranteed by the 1997 Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act. We know that the passage of this Act brought dramatic improvements in women’s health and well-being: high morbidity from incomplete abortions halved between 1994 (16.5%) & 2000 (9.5%), permanent genital injuries from incomplete abortions decreased from 3.2% (1994) to 0.6% (2000), and, strikingly, there was a 91.1% reduction in deaths to women due to abortion.

  • Second MenEngage Africa Symposium

    Second Menengage Africa Symposium
    Maputo, 23 to 27 April 2018

    Partnerships for Gender Justice in Africa

    On behalf of MenEngage Africa, Rede HOPEM and the Eduardo Mondlane University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (UEM-FLCS), are more than delighted to invite you to submit abstracts, attend and register for the Second MenEngage Africa Symposium, it’s largest flagship event, to be held on 23 and 27 April 2018, at the University Eduardo Mondlane main campus, in Maputo, Mozambique.

    Dubbed the Maputo Symposium, the event will highlight and celebrate important transformative interventions undertaken by MenEngage Africa member countries networks and gender activists working with men and boys in the promotion of gender equality and the human rights of women and girls in the region.

    The objectives of the Maputo Symposium are to:

    • Share evidence of impact, resources and practices related to work with men and masculinities for the promotion of gender equality in the continent;
    • Stimulate conversations, relationships and collaborations around gender transformative approaches between academics, activists, experts, and practitioners from different disciplines;
    • Strengthen regional political dialogue about masculinities and accountability to women, LGBT and other socially repressed groups, including follow up of international commitments;
    • Strengthening participants’ ability to adopt and implement multi-pronged approaches on tackling gender inequalities, development and human rights at policy, programme and service provision levels;
    • Develop a unified regional vision on the gender transformative approaches to engaging men and boys in transforming masculinities and supporting women’s empowerment, within the scope of sustainable development goals.

    Speakers from around the continent and rest of the world — including youth activists and gender and masculinities experts — will convene activists, policy makers, service providers and researchers working on gender, HIV, health, development and human rights to address issues such as Violence, Health and well-being, Poverty, social exclusion and work, Care, relationships and emotions, Sexuality and identities, Conflicts, peace strengthening, social justice, and Construction of masculinities in the continent, as well as produce clear country and region specific plans of action.

    Abstracts can be submitted in English, French and Portuguese

    Abstract review closing date – 28 February 2018

    We are interested in abstracts on innovative projects and/or interventions. Your abstract should tell us how your original project/presentation/research will add value to the symposium, will meet the symposium theme. Abstract should not exceed a max length of 600 words in Calibri font, size 12. Remember that an abstract should present your project/intervention essential elements and their relevance to the Symposium. An abstract for the Abstract Session is an abbreviated version of your research project. In your abstract you may want to include the following information:

    • Background & Context: Give a brief context for the research/work being presented
    • Methodology: How was the research/work attempted/ accomplished/achieved
    • Findings: Describe the key findings of the research/work being presented
    • Implications for practice, research, education & training, organisation/management, policy and guidance: How might your research/work inform similar initiatives in other settings/contexts
    • Lessons learned regarding the work and recommendations for other practitioners (at community programme, services or public policy levels)

    We are also interested in abstracts for special sessions, which consist of pre-established panels which tackle the symposium’s tracks. Your abstract should have a clear theme connecting all of the participants’ papers. In your Special Session Abstract be sure to include the theme, and a description of how the various papers address the theme. Special sessions will generally be organised by collective entities, partners groups, organisations with representation in different African countries, multi-country work groups or entities with similar interests in the continent.

    Participants interested in showcasing posters or exhibit their organisations’ work must contact the Symposium Secretariat for more details.

    Email us at secretariat@maputosymposium2018.org.mz and check the Symposium website www.maputosymposium2018.org.mz for more information.

  • Sonke scoops two awards in 2017 for work to advance human rights

    Sonke has been working to advance gender justice in South Africa and the region for more than a decade. In that time the organisation has been recognised for our human rights work in South Africa, the region and around the world.

    As 2017 comes to a close, we are proud to have been awarded The Mail & Guardian Investing in the Future and Drivers of Change Health Award for our prison reform work as well as the Overall Human Rights Award in the Foundation for Human Rights’ inaugural Mogambri Moodliar Human Rights Awards.

    The Mail & Guardian Investing in the Future and Drivers of Change Health Award was awarded to Sonke Gender Justice on the evening of Friday 1 December 2017 for our groundbreaking work in health and human rights in prisons.

    The award is well timed. A year ago on 5 December 2016, the Western Cape High Court declared conditions in Pollsmoor Remand Detention Facility to be in breach of the Government’s constitutional obligations to detain inmates in conditions consistent with human dignity.

    Sonke’s multifaceted work on prison reform has included a strategic mix of community education and mobilisation, legal and policy advocacy, communications and mass media and ongoing research.

    On 10 November 2017, Sonke was awarded the Overall Human Rights Award in the Foundation for Human Rights’ inaugural Mogambri Moodliar Human Rights Awards.

    According to Dean Peacock, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Sonke, “These awards are testimony to both the effectiveness of multi-pronged and ambitious strategy and a dedicated staff willing to stay the course over the long term no matter the challenges.”

    These awards build on a number of significant human rights achievements, which indicate that Sonke’s work is achieving real impact in South Africa and globally.

    • On World AIDS Day, 1 December 2017, UNAIDS released a report entitled “Blind Spot: Reaching out to men and boys”. Together with our partners including the Athena Network, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Promundo, and MenEngage Africa, Sonke has partnered with UNAIDS and other UN agencies for nearly a decade to draw attention to the urgent need to reach men and boys with HIV services and to address the harmful gender norms that contribute to men’s and women’s vulnerabilities to HIV and AIDS.
    • On 29 November the Labour Laws Amendement Bill was passed by the National Assembly. This is a landmark achievement for which Sonke, together with other civil society partners have been advocating for many years. It will expand and improve parental leave for all parents and when signed into law will advance gender equality, improve women’s access to training and equal employment and enhance children’s wellbeing.
    • On 19 October 2017, Sonke celebrated another important human rights victory when the South Gauteng High Court ruled that the common law defence of reasonable chastisement is not in line with the Constitution and no longer applies to our law. The court said that protecting our children was particularly important in the context of the high levels of child abuse and violence that pervade our society.

  • NO to XeNOphobia – holding our leaders accountable

    On 14 July 2017, the Deputy Minister of Police, Bongani Mkongi, made xenophobic statements while visiting Hillbrow Police Station in Johannesburg. Among other things, he accused foreign nationals of economic sabotage and made the following statements

    “We fought for this country, not only for us but for generations of South Africans to live in harmony in a non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa.” […]

    “How can a city in South Africa be 80% foreign nationals? That is dangerous. South Africans have surrendered their own city to the foreigners. The nation should discuss that question.”

    “We are surrendering our land […] We fought for this land […] We cannot surrender it to foreign nationals.”

    On 21 August 2017, Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke) and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) submitted a complaint to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) regarding these statements, arguing that they violate the following sections of the Bill of Rights:

    • Section 9, the right to Equality
    • Section 10, the right to Dignity
    • Section 12, the right to Freedom and Security of Person
    • Section 21, the right to Freedom of Movement and Residence

    The SAHRC has found that there is a prima facie violation of the rights of the Complainant to human dignity (section 10 of the Constitution) and equality (section 9 of the Constitution).

    The Ministry of Police has until 6 Dec 2017 to respond to the allegations to the Human Rights Commission.

    Timeline of Events:

    • 14 July 2017: Date of xenophobic statements
    • 15 July 2017: Media reports Mkongi doesn’t think his comments are xenophobic
    • 17 July 2017: SAHRC condemns utterances and Minister Mbalula writes a strong article entitled “Immigrants are welcome here”
    • 18 July 2017: The Media reports Minister Mbalula regrets deputy’s remarks and directed the Deputy-Minister to issue a statement:

    “The deputy minister and I have agreed that he will issue a statement, explaining that his comments, whilst they were meant for a good purpose, could actually be misused to attack our African brothers. That statement borders on xenophobia.”

    • 23 July 2017: Media reports that Mkongi does not regret comments
    • 28 July 2017: The Hate Crime Working Group writes to Minister Mbalula calling for disciplinary action to be taken against the Deputy-Minister
    • 15 August: The HCWG writes an open letter to the Deputy Minister Mkongi urging him to release an official statement retracting his words and to recommit SAPS and other government departments to respect the human rights of all in South Africa.
      • The HCWG receives no response
    • 21 August 2017: Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke) and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) submit a complaint to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)
    • 24 August 2017: SAHRC writes letter to Mkongi, cc’ing Mbalula, that following a careful assessment of the complaint by Sonke and LHR, they have found that it falls within its jurisdiction, as there is a prima facieviolation of the rights of the Complainant to human dignity (section 10 of the Constitution) and equality (section 9 of the Constitution). They invite Mkongi to respond to the allegations and complaints. He has 21 days to respond to the Commission.
    • 2 October 2017: Due to a clerical issue, the SAHRC sends letter to Mkongi only on this day.
      • The SAHRC receives no response
    • 21 Nov: LHR follows-up with SAHRC
    • 22 Nov: SAHRC notes that it has sent a follow-up mail to the Ministry of Police that gives them 14 days to respond
    • 6 Dec: last day for the Ministry of Police to respond to the SAHRC letter

    Documents and Links:

    1. Africa Check Factsheet following the statements[SC11]: https://africacheck.org/reports/mayors-claim-80-joburg-inner-city-residents-undocumented-foreigners-absurd/
    2. Sonke and LHR complaint to SAHRC
    3. Letter from Hate Crimes Working Group to Minister Mbalula
    4. Letter from Hate Crimes Working Group to Deputy Minister Mkongi
    5. Letter from SAHRC to Deputy Minister Mkongi, cc’ing Minister Mbalula

  • Sonke Gender Justice welcomes UNAIDS World AIDS Day report on the urgent need to reach men and boys with HIV services

    SONKE GENDER JUSTICE WELCOMES UNAIDS WORLD AIDS DAY REPORT ON THE URGENT NEED TO REACH MEN AND BOYS WITH HIV SERVICES AND TO ADDRESS THE HARMFUL GENDER NORMS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO MEN’S AND WOMEN’S VULNERABILITIES TO HIV AND AIDS.

    WE CALL ON GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD, AND ESPECIALLY IN SOUTHERN AND EASTERN AFRICA, TO ACT ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS CONTAINED IN THE REPORT AND TO URGENTLY PUT IN PLACE STRATEGIES TO BETTER REACH MEN AND BOYS WITH HIV SERVICES AND TO ACCOMPANY THESE WITH POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES THAT ADVANCE GENDER EQUALITY

    Sonke congratulates UNAIDS on their World AIDS Day report titled “Blind Spot: Reaching out to men and boys”. Sonke has been engaged in ongoing advocacy to draw attention to men’s poor access to HIV services and the devastating consequences this has for men, women and our collective ability to prevent HIV and AIDS. We welcome this report.

    The report finds a good balance between reaffirming commitment to addressing women’s rights and needs in the HIV response, on the one hand, and acknowledging men’s very poor HIV outcomes and the urgent need to get men into HIV services on the other.

    We agree with UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé when he says: “Addressing the inequalities that put women and girls at risk of HIV is at the forefront of the AIDS response. But there is a blind spot for men – men are not using services to prevent HIV or to test for HIV and are not accessing treatment on the scale that women are.”

    We also affirm his remarks that getting men into services is good for all of us and for the AIDS response: “When men access HIV prevention and treatment services, there is a triple dividend,” says Mr Sidibé. “They protect themselves, they protect their sexual partners and they protect their families.”

    The Blind Spot report shows that men are less likely to take an HIV test, less likely to access antiretroviral therapy and more likely to die of AIDS-related illnesses than women. It also shows that “globally less than half of men living with HIV are on treatment, compared to 60% of women. Studies show that men are more likely than women to start treatment late, to interrupt treatment and to be lost to treatment follow-up.”

    It also reveals that, “in sub-Saharan Africa, men and boys living with HIV are 20% less likely than women and girls living with HIV to know their HIV status, and 27% less likely to be accessing treatment. In KwaZulu-Natal, the province with the highest HIV prevalence in South Africa, only one in four men aged 20–24 years living with HIV in 2015 knew that they had the virus.”

    The report makes clear the consequences of men’s limited access to services. It reveals that men “face greater likelihood of death from AIDS-related causes while on treatment” and provides examples from South Africa. “Analysis of clinic data from South Africa has shown that men were 25% more likely than women to die from AIDS-related causes, even though women were more likely to be living with HIV.”

    Sidibé draws attention to the urgent need to shift harmful norms of masculinity that discourage men from seeking HIV services: “The concept of harmful masculinity and male stereotypes create conditions that make having safer sex, taking an HIV test, accessing and adhering to treatment – or even having conversations about sexuality – a challenge for men,” said Mr Sidibé.

    Initiatives like Sonke’s One Man Can, Brothers for Life and MenCare campaigns have been shown to effectively challenge harmful gender norms held by men and successfully get men into HIV services. These need to be adopted by our governments across the region and rolled out at scale.

    This report and the opportunity it represents reflects hard work over many years by Sonke and our partners, especially the Athena Network, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Promundo, and MenEngage Africa. Together, we have partnered with UNAIDS and other UN agencies for nearly a decade to draw attention to the blind spot they bring into sharp focus with this timely report.

    As part of our efforts to draw attention to this sustained blind spot in the AIDS response, Sonke, IPPF and UNAIDS convened a high level meeting at UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva in December 2015 to analyse the data, agree on joint priorities and to launch the Global Platform for Action on Men and HIV, which focuses on two key strategies: implementing evidence-based policies and practices that increase men’s active support for gender equality, and, getting men into HIV services.

    Today, we also release a new short film co-produced by Sonke and UNAIDS on how to engage men and boys, and we release two new publications: a promising practices brief documenting best practices implemented at scale in East and Southern Africa to engage men, and an analysis of national policies on men, gender and health in thirteen countries across East and Southern Africa.

    The UNAIDS press release accompanying the report concludes with a message we reiterate: “The Blind spot shows that by enabling men to stay free from HIV, get tested regularly and start and stay on treatment if HIV-positive, the benefits will not only improve male health outcomes, but will contribute to declines in new HIV infections among women and girls and to altering harmful gender norms.”

    We congratulate UNAIDS on this important report and convey our gratitude to our colleagues in many UNAIDS offices for their hard work.

    FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

  • Residents of Gugulethu demand safety in our community

    Gender-based violence (‘GBV’) is a persistent threat across South Africa, with extremely high rates across the country. It has been estimated at costing the country between R28.4 – R42.4 billion per year, or between 0.9% and 1.3% of our GDP annually. Further, the NSP on HIV, TB and STIs (2017-2022) states that GBV is a significant driver of HIV acquisition among women, including community attitudes and lack of safety in permitting this.

    The Western Cape itself has been identified as one of the most unsafe provinces in South Africa. A third of the country’s murders have been reported at WC police stations. During the 2016/2017 year, murder increased by 2.7%. Sexual assault increased by 6% and robbery with aggravating circumstances increased by 1.3%.1 Within the Western Cape, Gugulethu has been identified as one of the worst ten precincts. 238 sexual offences, 173 rapes, 618 assaults with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm and 720 robberies with aggravating circumstances were reported in 2017 alone.2

    The Gugulethu community is plagued by a number of issues that are contributing to the high rates of GBV and lack of community safety. These issues include the following: high rates of substance abuse and gangsterism, lack of water and proper sanitation, and lack of safety of health care workers in clinics who are being robbed in their clinics and cannot provide proper healthcare because of this. In addition, the infrastructure that is meant to protect and make the communities’ lives easier are part of the contributing factors, including high rates of rape and gangsterism in schools, robbery being perpetrated by taxi drivers and neighbourhood watch groups who are in fact perpetrating crimes and orchestrating attacks on the street.

    To effectively solve the crisis of lack of safety in Gugulethu, the stakeholders this memorandum is directed to, must listen and address the demands of the Gugulethu community immediately and resolutely. The Gugulethu community asks that the stakeholders develop and engage in partnerships with local community-based organisations and non-government organisations working on GBV-related issues and the community itself to meet the demands set out below.

    The Gugulethu community demands the following:

    1. The above-mentioned stakeholders to whom this letter is addressed to make public statements recognising the crisis in Gugulethu and affirming their commitment to ensuring improved safety and decreased rates of GBV in Gugulethu and the Western Cape as a whole;
    2. The above-mentioned stakeholders to make a firm commitment to addressing the issues faced by the Gugulethu community by, among other things, committing financial resources to, or ensuring that the proper departments commit financial resources to the following:
      1. Developing and implementing a lighting master plan for the Cape Town City Council to improve street lighting, particularly in townships and in areas used by pedestrians as short cuts;
      2. Ensuring safe public transport by:
        1. Supporting awareness campaigns with taxi owners;
        2. Support ing aware ness campaigns with taxi owners and drivers (e.g. Sonke’s Safe Ride campaign);
        3. Develop ing safety campaigns for trains and buses; and
        4. Improving bus shelters’ location and safety for ‘after hours’ commuters, including better lighting at bus stops, train stations etc;
      3. Installing CCTV cameras, particularly in identified high risk/danger areas;
      4. Increasing targeted visible police patrols and additional patrols at night by security guards or police reservists;
      5. Involving street hawkers in crime watchdog projects through incentivised programmes;
      6. Improving sanitation conditions in townships, by providing:
        1. additional ablution blocks and improve regular maintenance thereof; and
        2. better lighting and CCTV cameras around sanitation facilities;
      7. Committing council resources to strengthen and en sure sustainability of existing places of safety and establish some in places they don’t exist;
      8. Committing resources to make services accessible for all people living with disabilities e.g. wheelchair friendly police vehicles for disabled offenders & perpetrators;
    3. Implementing awareness-raising campaigns around public safety by increasing public awareness campaigns and information sharing e.g. community dialogues; at clinics linking GBV and HIV; where to access services, shelters;
    4. The Western Cape Department of Community Safety along with the Western Cape Police Ombudsman must ensure accountability by means of oversight.
    5. The irrational and discriminatory system of resources allocation applied by SAPS needs to be revised. More allocation must be provided for police stations in informal settlements, including Gugulethu and Nyanga.
    6. For national government to adopt and implement a multi-sectoral, fully-costed, inter-sectoral National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence.
    7. The stakeholders and all implicated departments attend a public meeting organised by the signatories to this memorandum to provide the following feedback on these demands by Tuesday 30th January 2018, as follows:
      1. Evidence of plans we have asked for; and
      2. Serious commitment, including financial and human resources, to solving these issues.

    The memorandum was endorsed by the following organisations:

    • Treatment Action Campaign, Western Cape
    • Movement for Change and Social Justice
    • Mosaic
    • Emthonjeni
    • Gugulethu Disability Development Forum
    • Grassroot Soccer
    • Activist Education and Development Centre
    • Peace Ambassadors
    • Reeva Steenkamp Foundation

    Received by Mr Don Sauls
    Acting Director: Safety Promotions and Partnerships
    Department of Community Safety – Western Cape

    Fredalene Booysen
    Community Education & Mobilisation Manager
    Sonke Gender Justice, Western Cape

    We will be making contact with your offices for a meeting on 26 January 2018 to discuss progress made.

    Endnotes

    1. https://www.saps.gov.za/services/final_crime_stats_presentation_24_october_2017.pdf.
    2. http://www.crimestatssa.com/toptenbyprovince.php?ShowProvince=Western%20Cape.

    The signed memorandum can be downloaded here.

  • Why FGM is not just a women’s issue

    Research done by Sonke Gender Justice, a Johannesburg-based NGO, in addition to international research, has confirmed that working with men and boys to promote gender equality and challenge discrimination has a positive impact on the health of women and girls.

    “It is believed that men do not have any responsibility and women are the decision makers for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), yet the reality on the ground traduces a major role of men being involved either directly or indirectly,” Mpiwa Mangneiro, Regional Campaigns and Advocacy Specialist for Sonke Gender Justice, told the African News Agency (ANA) on Friday.

    Mangneiro was talking on the sidelines of the 10th Annual Conference on Women’s Rights at the fifth session of the Pan African Parliament (PAP), being held at the Gallagher Conference Centre in Midrand.

    The objective of Friday morning’s session, moderated by Gloriose Nimeny, the Deputy Chairperson of the PAP Women’s Caucus, was to help attendees understand the role of men and boys in eliminating FGM.

    Speakers, including Mabel Sengendo and Itumeleng Komanyane from Sonke Gender Justice, explained how during fragile and crisis situations, violence against women, including FGM, are likely to escalate due the breakdown of social and protection mechanisms.

    More than 200 million girls and women have been mutilated and if trends continue an estimated 86 million young girls worldwide are likely to experience some form of the practice by 2030 with 28 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia all affected.

    While 23 countries in Africa have adopted national laws penalising FGM, law enforcement remains the challenge.

    Since 2008, UN Population Fund (UNFPA), in partnership with the UN children’s fund (UNICEF) has been at the forefront of accelerating the abandonment of FGM in Burkina Faso, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, Sudan, Uganda, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Mali, Nigeria and Somalia.

    Strategies include PAP increasing awareness of men in various countries on the issues of FGM, gender inequalities and the empowerment of women.

    Justine Coulson, UNFPA Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa said that there has been significant success already in fighting FGM thanks to the involvement of PAP parliamentarians.

    But she urged them to take even further action to protect the future of millions of African women who still face FGM and the painful consequences of the practice.

  • Pan African Parliament Women’s Conference questions role of parliamentarians in ending Female Genital Mutilation

    PAP

    The 10th Pan African Parliament (PAP) Annual Women’s Conference gets underway today (12th October 2017) under the theme “Role of Parliamentarians in promoting international and regional Human Rights instruments, especially those related to Women and Youth, Peace and Security, and Female Genital Mutilation in order to achieve the Demographic Dividend”. The conference is being held at the PAP Parliament in Midrand, Johannesburg, and will end tomorrow, 13th October 2017.

    Co-organised by the Pan African Parliament (PAP), MenEngage Africa (MEA) Alliance, Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke) and the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), the conference aims to mobilise members of the PAP to promote international and regional human rights instruments and to accelerate the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM) deemed to be a threat to Demographic Dividend of Africa.

    More than 200 million girls and women have been cut in almost 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia while 86 million young girls worldwide are likely to experience some form of FGM practice by 2030, if current trends continue.

    The president of the Pan African Parliament, Hon Roger Nkodo Dang says the first sign of success of this conference will be the engagement of members of the PAP as Champions of FGM elimination in their countries.

    “Following this conference, we expect commitment from the PAP members to engage males to address gender inequalities and harmful practices such as FGM in their respective countries, due to decision-making powers they hold,” Hon. Dang says.

    The President also underscored that the integrated approach for prevention and response requires the adoption and enforcement of appropriated laws which some African countries practicing FGM still lack.

    Sixty (60) countries around the world (23 in Africa) have adopted national laws penalising FGM practices.

    The Women’s Conference, which brings together national & regional women Parliamentarians, civil society groups, and other stakeholders, will review progress of the Pan African Parliament in the promotion of gender mainstreaming and the economic advancement of women in Africa.

    It will also discuss strategies and measures to fast-track the ratification and domestication of the African Union Legal Instruments, particularly the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), and the Pan African Parliament Protocol.

  • Five Days of Violence Prevention Conference, 2-6 October 2017

    Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke), in partnership with MenEngage Africa, MenEngage Global, Men for Gender Equality, FEMNET, Mosaic, Soul City, We Will Speak Out and UN Women, will be hosting the second Five Days of Violence Prevention Conference at the Turbine Hall, in Newtown, Johannesburg, from 2 – 6 October 2017. The first conference was held in Sweden in 2014.
     
    Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women and former South African Deputy President will deliver the keynote address – Violence Prevention: Global and Regional Trends in Africa – on Monday, 2 October, during the Opening Plenary from 09h00 to 11h00.
     
    In the evening, Mlambo Ngcuka will give the inaugural Annual Sonke Lecture, which will take place during the conference’s opening gala dinner at the Mapungubwe Hotel in Newtown, Johannesburg, from 19h00 – 22h00.  
     
    The Five Days of Violence Prevention Conference will bring together researchers, activists, policy makers, donors and programmers from civil society organisations, UN agencies, government ministries, faith-based organisations academic institutions and multi-lateral organisations from around the world to discuss emerging issues in the violence field and strengthen the development of prevention strategies that can be adapted to different regional and national contexts. The conference aims to strengthen the accountability aspect of violence prevention at all levels.

    Conference focus areas include: 

    1. The Socio-political Economy of Violence – What is Violence? 
    2. GBV in context and the continuum of violence.
    3. Lived experiences of violence: What do the research and lived experiences tell us?
    4. What works in preventing GBV?
    5. Another Type of Evidence Is Possible: Expanding Our Understanding of Evidence of Impact in GBV Prevention.
    6. Partners in Development – Bringing Back Gender Justice and Human Rights In Our Strategic Response To Violence.
    7. Global, regional and national experiences of making governments and international institutions accountable for GBV prevention and response.  

    A media briefing will be held from 11h00 – 11h30 a.m following the Opening Plenary on Monday, 2 October. Members of the media are invited to attend. Media are also invited to attend the inaugural lecture that same evening.

    FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO OBTAIN INTERVIEWS PLEASE CONTACT:

    1. Bafana Khumalo: Co-Founder & Director of Strategic Partnerships, Sonke Gender Justice.
      Tel: +27 11 339 3589
      Cell: +27 82 578 4479
      email: bafana@genderjustice.org.za
    1. Itumeleng Komanyane: Manager of Regional Programmes, Sonke Gender Justice.
      Tel: +27 11 339 3589
      Cell: +27 84 202 2788
      email: itumeleng@genderjustice.org.za
    1. Khopotso Bodibe: Communications Associate, Sonke Gender Justice.
      Tel: +27 11 339 3589
      Cell: +27 82 495 4158
      email: khopotso@genderjustice.org.za

  • Invitation to a community dialogue on gender-based violence prevention

    GBV Dialogue Invitation

  • Strategising against FGM in Zanzibar

    Female genital mutilation (FGM) is practiced across cultures and religions in different parts of the world and it’s normally targeted at young girls and adolescents, although older women are at times victims of the practice too. This practice has negative social and health consequences that have an enormous impact on the lives of women and girls. From a human rights perspective, the practice reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women.

    In continued efforts to root out this practice, MenEngage Africa (MEA), Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are hosting a regional meeting from 5-7 July 2017 on the island of Zanzibar, Tanzania, in East Africa with key regional and international stakeholders, civil society, traditional and religious leaders, and MEA networks across the region. This is to engage on how to synergise work on ending FGM and integrate initiatives on engaging men and boys, as well as provide inputs for the MEA campaign on ending FGM.

    Objectives of the meeting

    • To get input for the MEA FGM campaign blue print being developed from recommendations of the Entebbe FGM consultation of 2015.
    • To provide recommendations to the Pan African Parliament, in particular parliamentarians working on FGM on how they can take this work forward and support both a regional and global initiative on eradicating FGM in their respective constituencies.
    • To compare, learn and share regional strategies on tackling FGM.

    Key points to consider

    • While origins of FGM are debatable, it is practised across cultures for various reasons ranging from religious, cultural and social norms and beliefs.
    • Most countries in the East Africa region such as Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda have outlawed the practice of FGM. However, despite laws that prohibit FGM there are challenges with implementation as communities are still unaware of the laws and, in some instances, are willing to circumvent the law to continue the practices such as the cross-border practice by some communities from Uganda to Kenya to mutilate young girls.
    • To advance initiatives to end FGM, it is crucial to target religious and traditional leaders, politicians, parents, women, media and schools. Politicians and religious leaders have not yet fully embraced the need to end FGM and some are not willing to speak against FGM, especially politicians who think speaking against it may affect their popularity and votes. Some older women in Kenya have been pressured to undergo FGM so their husbands can run for political office. There is, therefore, a need to use multiple approaches to address FGM as no single approach is adequate.
    • Religious and traditional leaders play a key role in ending FGM. In Kenya, religious and traditional leaders and council of elders are progressive and support an end to FGM.
    • The medicalisation of FGM is an emerging trend with 42% prevalence in Egypt, 13% in Kenya and 15% in Nigeria.
    • FGM trends and patterns are evolving, for example, communities are now moving from more to less serve forms of FGM and the practice is now targeting younger girls and infants.
    • There is a need to interrogate reasons why FGM is still practised. Are the drivers still the same or have they been evolving?

  • Civil society calls on SA Government to support resolutions addressing violence and discrimination against women before the UNHRC

    Three important resolutions to address violence and discrimination against women and girls have been tabled at the 35th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. One focuses on the elimination of discrimination against women and girls, another on accelerating efforts to eliminate violence against women by engaging men and boys in preventing and responding to violence against all women and girls, and the other on child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian settings.

    All three resolutions contain language that is in line with commitments laid out in South Africa’s Constitution. All three call on UN member states, including South Africa, to take action to address multiple and intersecting forms of violence against women and girls.

    Despite South Africa’s ongoing crises of violence against women and girls, and despite now familiar reassurances from senior government officials that addressing and preventing violence against women is a national priority, South Africa chose not to join the nearly sixty countries which co- sponsored these resolutions when they were tabled last Thursday at the Human Rights Council.

    To date, the South African government has still not indicated whether it will co-sponsor or support these resolutions when they go before the Human Rights Council this Thursday and Friday. Our government has also not provided a rationale for its inaction.

    The civil society organisations listed below call on the South African Government to endorse these resolutions by immediately signing on as co-sponsors, opposing any hostile amendments tabled by conservative states and by voting for the resolutions later this week.

    As women’s rights and gender equality organisations, we expect South Africa to act in line with its commitments to human rights as contained in national, regional and international law. Over the years we have observed an inconsistent approach by South Africa to women’s rights in UN and other inter-governmental spaces. This flies in the face of South Africa’s hard won largely progressive legislative framework on women’s rights. It also sends a message domestically that addressing violence and discrimination against women is simply not a priority in the face of other agendas.

    All three resolutions contain progressive language and include commitments to action sorely needed to address and prevent endemic violence and discrimination against women in South Africa. None contain any language that could be construed as conflicting with our own laws.

    While nearly 60 countries co-sponsored these resolutions, South Africa, a member of the Human Rights Council, has to date failed to indicate whether it will follow suit.

    Drafted by Canada and co-sponsored by sixty countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Botswana, the Resolution on Accelerating Efforts to Eliminate Violence against Women is the first resolution ever in the Human Rights Council to call on States to implement strategies to engage men and boys in preventing and responding to violence against all women and girls. It includes strong and clearly articulated strategies sorely needed in South Africa. For instance, it identifies patriarchal norms as a root cause of gender based violence and it calls on States to “design, implement and regularly monitor the impact of national policies, programmes and strategies that address the roles and responsibilities of men and boys, including through transforming social-cultural norms and traditional and customary practices that condone violence against women and girls…”. Amidst concerns about the inadequacy of funding for women’s rights organizations, the resolution includes important language ensuring resources for women and girls are not compromised in order to fund initiatives focused on engaging men and boys.

    The resolution drafted by Mexico and Colombia on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and Girls was co-sponsored by forty-three countries, including Botswana and Rwanda in the Africa Group. It also includes commitments needed here at home. It urges States to challenge patriarchal attitudes and eliminate gender stereotypes, address unequal power relations that view women and girls as subordinate to men, reaffirms women’s bodily autonomy and right to make decisions over their lives and health, and calls on States to collaborate with “women’s and community-based organizations, feminist groups, women human rights defenders and girls’ and youth-led organizations”. These are all measures that are sorely needed in South Africa.

    The resolution drafted by El Salvador and Sierra Leone on Child, Early and Forced Marriage in Humanitarian Settings represents an important step in putting the issue of child marriage in humanitarian contexts on the agenda of governments, UN agencies, humanitarian actors and others in crisis contexts. It calls upon States and a wide range of other actors to take specific actions to address child marriage, and for the first time says that these efforts are particularly important in humanitarian contexts. It advances the debate on child marriage in the UN context by acknowledging the basic need for access to justice, sexual and reproductive health and civil registration/vital statistics in humanitarian situations as ways to address child marriage; condemning attacks on educational institutions; and, by acknowledging that gender inequality is the root cause of child marriage.

    The civil society organisations listed below call on government to indicate its support for these resolutions by immediately co-sponsoring them and opposing any hostile amendments proposed to limit their scope and potential impact.

    We expect our Government to uphold the values and commitments enshrined in our constitution and in national law, including to equality, health, dignity, and physical and psychological integrity. Now more than ever we need clear and unequivocal action to advance women’s rights and to end violence against women and all forms of discrimination.

    Endorsed by:

    • Amandla.Mobi
    • Centre for Applied Legal Studies, University of Witwatersrand
    • Centre for Law and Society, University of Cape Town
    • Critical Studies in Sexualities and Reproduction, Rhodes University
    • Coalition of African Lesbians
    • Equal Education Law Centre
    • Gender, Health & Justice Research Unit – Faculty of Health Sciences – University of Cape Town
    • Grassroot Soccer South Africa
    • Lawyers Against Abuse
    • Optimystic Bikers Against Abuse
    • MOSIAC
    • Rock Girl
    • Shukumisa Campaign
    • Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition
    • Sonke Gender Justice
    • Thando Care
    • The Southern Africa Litigation Centre
    • Treatment Action Campaign
    • Triangle Project
    • Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture
    • Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre to End Violence Against Women
    • Vanessa Japtha (personal capacity)
    • Wish Associates

    MEDIA CONTACTS:

    Dean Peacock, Co-Executive Director, Sonke Gender Justice, dean@genderjustice.org.za, +27 72 461 7751

    Nondumiso Nsibande, Executive Director, Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre to end Violence Against Women, nondumiso@tlac.org.za, +27 11 403 4267

  • South Africa called on to vote in favour of three important Human Rights Council resolutions to address violence against women

    On Thursday 15 June, three important resolutions to address violence and discrimination against women and to end child and early marriage were tabled during the 35th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

    While nearly 60 countries co-sponsored these resolutions, South Africa, a member of the Human Rights Council, has to date failed to indicate whether it will follow suit.

    The resolutions will go before the Human Rights Council for voting on 22 and 23 June. All three contain language in line with commitments laid out in South Africa’s Constitution and call on UN member states, including South Africa, to take action to address multiple and intersecting forms of violence against women and girls.

    South Africa faces a crisis of violence against women. Co-sponsoring and voting in favour of these resolutions will send a message of political commitment to people in South Africa that the government prioritises ending violence against women.

    Details of the three resolutions are below.

    Accelerating efforts to eliminate violence against women: engaging men and boys in preventing and responding to violence against all women and girls

    Drafted by Canada and co-sponsored by sixty countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Botswana, this is the first resolution ever in the Human Rights Council to call on States to implement strategies to engage men and boys in preventing and responding to violence against all women and girls. It includes strong and clearly articulated strategies sorely needed in South Africa. For instance, it identifies patriarchal norms as a root cause of gender based violence and it calls on States to “design, implement and regularly monitor the impact of national policies, programmes and strategies that address the roles and responsibilities of men and boys, including through transforming social-cultural norms and traditional and customary practices that condone violence against women and girls…”. Amidst concerns about the inadequacy of funding for women’s rights organizations, the resolution includes important language ensuring resources for women and girls are not compromised in order to fund initiatives focused on engaging men and boys.

    Elimination of discrimination against women and girls

    The resolution drafted by Mexico and Colombia was co-sponsored by forty three countries including Botswana and Rwanda in the Africa Group. It also includes commitments needed here at home. It urges States to challenge patriarchal attitudes and eliminate gender stereotypes, address unequal power relations that view women and girls as subordinate to men, reaffirms women’s bodily autonomy and right to make decisions over their lives and health, and calls on States to collaborate with “women’s and community-based organizations, feminist groups, women human rights defenders and girls’ and youth-led organizations”.  These are all measures that are sorely needed in South Africa.

    Child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian settings 

    This resolution drafted by El Salvador and Sierra Leone represents an important step in putting the issue of child marriage in humanitarian contexts on the agenda of governments, UN agencies, humanitarian actors and others in crisis contexts. It calls upon States and a wide range of other actors to take specific actions to address child marriage, and for the first time says that these efforts are particularly important in humanitarian contexts. It advances the debate on child marriage in the UN context by: acknowledging the basic need for access to justice, sexual and reproductive health and civil registration/vital statistics in humanitarian situations as ways to address child marriage; condemning attacks on educational institutions; and, by acknowledging that gender inequality is the root cause of child marriage.

     

  • Sonke Gender Justice at the 8th South African AIDS Conference, Durban, SA

    AIDS Conference 2017

  • Kenya hosts regional parliamentary meeting on FGM/C

    Kenya recently played host to a regional parliamentary conference on female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), under the theme ‘’Value of learning together – Youth, Elders, Government, Women and Legislators as custodians of positive culture for girls and women’’.

    FGM

    The participants were drawn from members of the four regional parliaments that have committed to the Obligation to Protect (O2P) framework – a programme financed by the government of the Netherlands to support a range of efforts aimed at rooting out FGM/C in Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan and Kenya.

    They also included members of the Kenyan Parliamentary Caucus on FGM/C. Members of the Parliaments of Somalia, Djibouti and Senegal, the chair and members of the Kenya Anti-FGM Board, representatives of different government ministries, European members of Parliament, local representatives, including government officials, reformed FGM practitioners, religious leaders, health officials, anti-FGM/C campaigners and community elders of several Kenyan counties, representatives from Plan International’s Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt and Kenya offices, representatives from the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) and other experts.

    Kenya MenEngage Alliance was represented by the National Co-ordinator Job Akuno and the Programme Officer Elias Muindi.

    Speaking at the conference, Akuno said “male engagement is important since men and boys are the consumers of FGM/C. In that sense, they are best placed to highlight the dangers of FGM/C to their peers and to act as partners and agents of change in eradicating it’’.

    FGM

    Held in Nairobi, Kenya over two days – 21st February and 22nd February – the conference’s objectives were to:

    • Brief the MPs of the four O2P (Obligation to Protect) countries and additional countries about the situation of FGM/C and the existing legal and policy frameworks in these countries;
    • To share the experience, expertise and best practices with regard to the parliamentary activities taken so far to abandon FGM/C in their countries; and
    • To discuss regional co-operation towards the implementation of existing laws and policies.

    The conference outcomes were:

    • MPs were sensitised about the prevalence and practice of FGM/C in their countries;
    • MPs became aware of best practices in other countries and have committed to share this information with their Parliaments back in their countries;
    • A commitment to share experiences and expertise among African MPs in the region, MPs and local representatives in Kenya, and between African and European MPs. This will increase mutual understanding and political will for co-operation towards eliminating FGM/C; and
    • The drafting of a regional parliamentary action plan on FGM/C.

    Some of the resolutions of the conference by parliamentarians were:

    • To raise awareness among other parliamentary colleagues about the harmful effects of FGM/C, the weak implementation of the FGM/C law, where it exists, and their obligation to act to reverse the trend;
    • To present in their respective parliaments concrete action plans in accordance with four goals – to have practical tools to prevent all forms of FGM/C, to establish and offer legal means to protect and safeguard victims and potential of FGM/C, to seek commitment from all stakeholders to end FGM/C, for instance, introducing anti-FGM/C curriculum at primary level in schools, and to seek and lobby government and relevant authorities to enforce the law through education and civic education;
    • To actively involve parliamentarians in communication/sensitisation activities in communities in their different countries for the abandonment of FGM/C;
    • To review, amend and enact the national and regional legislative frameworks to ensure better protection of the rights of women and girls, including those relating to their reproductive and sexual health, in each country and in the region;
    • To give oversight to state policies on FGM/C by asking pertinent questions to the relevant ministers on the enactment of legislation on the fight against FGM/C; and
    • To ensure adequate resource allocation to policy interventions and institutions mandated to oversee the abandonment of FGM/C.

    The members of parliament who attended the conference promised to develop a National Action Plan on FGM/C in each of their parliaments, where it is not in place, and to create national structures in the form of taskforces or working groups with parliamentary representation. These groups will be responsible for implementing the action plans at the national level and developing linkages with other parliaments at the regional level in order to be able to share best practices and lessons learned with one another.

    The key output of the conference was a signed declaration of commitment document by parliamentarians to end FGM/C.

  • Meet MenEngage Namibia’s new co-ordinator

    Tangeni

    MenEngage Namibia has just added a new member to the family. Tangeni John Ilovu joins the Namibia network as its new co-ordinator. Ilovu brings with him an enthusiasm that will help propel the work that the network has already started to greater heights.

    “I am and I always will be a manufacturer of knowledge and an agent of change. I am a self-starter who is stimulated by intellectual contestation of ideas, debates and discourses. I am a self-motivated and highly principled individual. I live my life as an example to other young people and see my role in society as that of being an exemplary leader. I am a vibrant, inquisitive, diligent, and independent-minded being with a strong ability of influencing others”, he says, describing himself.

    The issues that are central to the network have been always been an important feature of Ilovu’s life.

    “My interest in social issues started at a very young age. I started with My Future Is My Choice, a life skills programme aimed at providing young people who haven’t started having sex with the skills to delay sexual intercourse, preventing young people from becoming infected with HIV, providing young people with facts about sexual health, pregnancy, STDs, and HIV and AIDS, improving the decision-making skills of young people, improving the communication between boys and girls, between friends, between young people and their parents and their community, providing young people with the information and skills required to face peer pressure around the use of non-prescription drugs and alcohol and providing young people with the skills they require to make well informed choices about their sexual behavior. I also became a member of Teenagers against Drugs and Alcohol (TADA), when I was a young boy,” he says.

    “In my years while studying Industrial Psychology at the University of Namibia, I joined ZAMANAWE. ZAMANAWE was a regional programme mainly aimed at developing and implementing institution specific HIV and AIDS peer education programmes; monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the HIV and AIDS programmes and developing student leadership in HIV and AIDS across all institutions involved. These were the University of Namibia, University of Zambia, University of Malawi and the University of the Western Cape. Later, I joined the University of Namibia Action Research Team (U-Arts) as its co-ordinator. U-Arts’ main focus was addressing gender-based violence (GBV) on campus. Joining U-Arts helped me deepen my understanding of the subject of gender,” says Ilovu.

    “I believe that joining and working with MenEngage Namibia will help me see the change I want to see in our communities, to make a real impact on people’s lives.”

    Ilovu takes over from James Itana, who has served very well in the co-ordinator position since Lifeline/Childline Namibia, which works across the southern African country to improve the safety, health and resilience of Namibian children, families and communities, took the reins as Secretariat of MenEngage Namibia. We thank Itana for his dedicated service and we wish him and Ilovu great success in their new roles with Lifeline/Childline Namibia.

    For years, the organisation has provided a range of crucial services, including counselling services; programmes and training that address behaviour change and gender equity in health services; HIV prevention; child protection and advocacy for zero tolerance of abuse against children and gender-based violence. It has a key focus on engaging men in its programmes.

  • Working with men to address HIV in Uganda

    MenEngage Africa led a one-day workshop with key stakeholders to encourage and promote men’s full participation in efforts to address HIV and AIDS in Uganda. Held on the 15th of May, the workshop aimed to increase the support of programmes designed to improve the effective engagement of men in the HIV response.

    Using a range of participatory methodologies, it presented the latest data and current promising practices for effectively engaging men in the HIV response, with a gender transformative approach at the centre of the intervention.

    Participants, who included government representatives, United Nations and civil society partners including MenEngage Africa partners, networks of people living with HIV, experts in HIV, health and gender maters, discussed how to drive a co-ordinated Men & HIV campaign in Uganda.

    The Men & HIV campaign is one of key thematic areas that MenEngage Africa focuses on. Our work in gender transformation has informed us that gender inequalities and harmful gender norms are important drivers of the HIV epidemic, and they are major hindrances to an effective HIV response. While access to HIV services for women and girls remains a concern – particularly HIV prevention among adolescent girls – a growing body of evidence also shows that men and adolescent boys are less likely to have an HIV test, access antiretroviral treatment or adhere to this treatment.

    Therefore, there is an urgent need to reach men and adolescent boys in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) with evidence-informed HIV prevention, HIV testing and counselling as well as treatment and care services because the latest data show that:

    • Men are less likely to get tested for HIV.
    • About 90% of all new infections in ESA occur through sexual transmission.
    • 54% AIDS related deaths among 15-49 year olds occurred among males in 2015.
    • Men’s poor treatment outcomes and high risk behaviour put their sexual partners at risk of HIV infection.
    • 44% of men living with HIV are on ART. Men are less likely to initiate treatment, have a lower CD4 when they start, and are more likely to interrupt treatment and be lost to follow-up. Consequently men are less likely to achieve viral load suppression.
    • The burden of HIV prevention, treatment and care remains predominantly on women and gender inequality remains one of the key drivers of the AIDS epidemic. Dominant masculinity norms also impact men’s and boys’ risks of contracting and transmitting HIV and accessing HIV services. Improving male engagement in HIV services will improve the health of men themselves, their sexual partners and their families.

    Engaging men and adolescent boys in the HIV response is important in order to increase men’s access to, and use of, HIV services as well as to transform the gender norms and power inequalities that contribute to men’s risk-taking and women’s vulnerabilities.

    Much has already been achieved in working on effectively engaging men in the HIV response and there are a number of promising practices. However, programmes tend to be small scale and fast-tracking the HIV response among men will require a co-ordinated scaled up response. To support this, and building on the 2016 UNAIDS Platform for Action on Men and HIV, a Men and HIV Campaign is being co-ordinated by Sonke Gender Justice with support from the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa and MenEngage Africa. This campaign seeks to scale up efforts to fast-track the effective engagement of men in the HIV response to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

    Aids

  • MenEngage Africa on your radio!

    MEA-CA

    The MenEngage Africa Alliance, co-ordinated by Sonke Gender Justice, is delighted to announce a special partnership with Channel Africa, the external radio service of the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) that broadcasts to the rest of Africa and internationally.

    This partnership, led by MenEngage Africa’s Communications Specialist, Khopotso Bodibe and Channel Africa’s Programmes Manager, Lungi Daweti, will result in a year-long relationship in terms of which the alliance will produce and provide content for two radio programmes that engage men and boys across the African continent to create the change necessary for men, women, young people and children to enjoy equitable, healthy and happy relationships.

    The programmes – a 40 (forty) minute long version which will broadcast on Tuesday mornings at 09:00 (CAT) and an extended one hour version that will broadcast at the crack of dawn on Saturdays, 03:00-04:00 (CAT) – will also contribute to the development of just and democratic societies using a human rights framework to build the capacity of government, civil society organisations and citizens to achieve gender equality, prevent gender-based violence and reduce the spread of HIV and the impact of AIDS.

    “This partnership is a huge recognition and validation of the work that we do to promote gender equality and justice in our continent of Africa. We are truly honoured to have Channel Africa, a broadcaster of integrity on the African continent, sharing our values and partnering with us to champion gender justice and human rights for all”, said Itumeleng Komanyane, manager of the Regional and International Programmes Unit at Sonke Gender Justice, which co-ordinates the work of MenEngage Africa across the continent.

    “Through the programme, we hope to break the stereotype that gender equality is a concept that is foreign to Africa. Gender equality is part of ubuntu, the humane-ness of being African and, as Africans, we should embrace it. It’s a myth that Africans cannot be gender-sensitive”, added Bafana Khumalo, Co-Founder and Director of Strategic Partnerships at Sonke Gender Justice, co-ordinator of MenEngage Africa.

    Don’t miss the programme! Tune in every Tuesday morning at 09:00 (CAT) and Saturday at dawn – 03:00 CAT – via PAS 10 satellite in sub-Saharan Africa, on PAS 10 satellite in sub-Saharan Africa and on DStv audio bouquet Channel 802.

    With this report, we are sharing with you the first edition of the programme, which we have called AfricaGender Indaba. This is our maiden broadcast of Tuesday, 25th April 2017.

    We hope you’ll enjoy it and, please, give us feedback. Follow AfricaGender Indaba and communicate with us via twitter on @africagender!

    Listen to AfricaGender Indaba – Edition 1 (40 Mins) here.

  • Meet Sonke’s new UCLA – Sonke Health and Human Rights fellows

    Sonke Gender Justice is excited to announce that we have awarded two excellent candidates the UCLA – Sonke Health and Human Rights Fellowship to pursue an LLM in public interest law at the prestigious UCLA School of Law. The two fellows, Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane and Ralph Madlalate, will be commencing their studies in August 2017.

    Letlhogonolo

    Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane obtained his LLB from Stellenbosch University, graduating in 2013. At Stellenbosch, he was an academic mentor at his on campus residence and he tutored various modules throughout his undergraduate degree. He also formed part of a group of students who started the First Generation Camp, which is a camp that focuses on ensuring that the students who are the first of their families to coming to University were equipped with skills succeed at University. After University, he served articles and later become an associate at Bowman Gilfillan Inc. In July 2016, he served as a law clerk for Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga at the Constitutional Court of South Africa. His areas of interest include identity politics, intersectionality and socio-economic rights. Letlhogonolo enjoys reading books, poetry and attending other times of art performance such as plays, musical and recitals. He is one part of a duo that presents and produces a podcast ‘The Cheeky Natives,’ which reviews books and other art performances.

    Ralph

    Ralph Madlalate completed his LLB in 2014 at the University of the Witwatersrand. In 2015, he served as a Research and Teaching Associate at University of the Witwatersrand, where he developed critical insights into public interest legal practice through academic research. In 2016 Ralph completed his LLM in Human Rights Advocacy and Litigation at the University of the Witwatersrand, before joining the Legal Resources Centre as a candidate attorney. At the Legal Resources Centre Ralph has worked to advance civil, political and socio-economic rights at the domestic and regional level.

  • Sonke and MenEngage Africa support USAID’s workshop on Women’s Economic Empowerment & Equality

    MenEngage Africa and Sonke Gender Justice are supporting a FHI 360 and USAID – US Agency for International Development workshop on Women’s Economic Empowerment & Equality (WE3), which is taking place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosebank, outside of Johannesburg, South Africa, today and tomorrow (Tue-Wed, April 11-12, 2017).

    The workshop was preceded by a half-day Regional Women’s Caucus which was held yesterday, Monday, April 10.

    It will bring together diverse development actors, including USAID – US Agency for International Development staff members from different African missions, implementing partners, private sector companies, regional women’s organisations, small and medium enterprises, donors, academics, non-governmental organisations and grassroots leaders from the Global South.

    Elias Muindi, Programme Officer for MenEngage Africa’s Kenya network, Kenya MenEngage Alliance – KEMEA, will speak in a panel session on Women’s Entrepreneurship and Value Chain Linkages, on the second day of the workshop, 12 April 2017.

    Together, we will craft a collective vision and map out tangible, joint steps to increase women’s economic empowerment and equality in the region.

    WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES

    • Discuss draft USAID WE3 Framework and solicit practical input for implementing it.
    • Identify what works for private sector, public sector and civil society to increase WE3.
    • Map out and strengthen existing partnerships and identify new ones around WE3.
    • Identify tangible WE3 challenges and create joint action plans to solve them.
    • Network, network, network!!!

  • Day Three of MenEngage Africa’s annual capacity building workshop

    As our three-day annual capacity building workshop that is being held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with 10 of our MenEngage Africa networks comes to a close today, 6th April 2017, the focus of the day’s programme is on helping partners build strong impactful movements with a great potential for growth.

    What partners will also learn is how to align their programmes and activities to the issues that the global MenEngage alliance has identified as key advocacy activities.

    Finally, the partner networks will also reflect on the key highlights of the three-day workshop and develop an work plan informed by discussions over the three days.

  • Day Two of MenEngage Africa’s annual capacity building workshop

    Today, 5 April 2017 is Day Two of the MenEngage Africa Secretariat’s annual capacity building workshop with 10 of its partners.

    Held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, today’s will focus on, among other things gender transformative work with faith-based organisations; how to operationalise the three MenEngage Africa campaigns on sexual and gender-based violence, female genital mutilation (FGM) and work with men and HIV at country level; and how country networks can maintain sustainability and raise funds for their work.

    The aim of the three-day workshop is to contribute to building an African network of organisations with increased commitment and capacity to implement, document and advocate for effective, evidence-based and scaled up interventions to engage men and boys, women and girls in achieving gender equality.

  • Tanzanian Director of Children’s Development speaks at MenEngage Africa’s Capacity Building Programme

    “When we sufficiently engage men and boys in efforts to attain justice and equality for women and girls, many of the problems that women and girls face will be minimised and done away with completely”, said Benedict Missari, Director of Children’s Development in the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, in Tanzania.

    Missari was giving opening remarks at the start of a three-day Capacity Building Workshop for 10 MenEngage Africa networks that is being held in the Tanzanian capital of Dar es Salaam, from 4-6 April 2017.

    “This meeting comes at a time when a study led by Children’s Dignity Forum (CDF) Tanzania shedding light on the causes and drivers of child marriage has been unveiled. This study shows that men are at the centre of this problem. Men cause child marriages. Men cause child pregnancies. Thus, I ask you to, when you deliberate at this meeting identify how men can be challenged to be responsible and accountable for their children and all children in their communities to make sure that children are protected and treated equally – boys and girls”, Missari said.

    “You are meeting here coming from different countries. I believe that the problems we face in Zambia and Botswana are similar here in Tanzania. Having a common understanding of the problems we are facing is very crucial”, he concluded.

    Angelica Pino, Head of Programmes at Sonke Gender Justice, the Secretariat of MenEngage Africa, echoed Missari’s sentiment that men need to be accountable for gender equality. “We have rights and responsibilities. Men are part of the problem and, therefore, they should be part of the solution”, Pino said.