Two case studies highlight Sonke’s work with men in Africa
We’re excited to share with you two case studies that have been published lately. One details the MenCare My Dad Can project that’s shifting perceptions of gender roles in Matzikama, South Africa. Another reports on the One Man Can Campaign’s support for peacebuilding and gender equality in Sudan. » MenCare in Matzikama: Transforming a Rural […]
Sonke protests to turn the wheels of justice
This article, by Sonke’s Bongani Kona, was published in yesterday’s the Sunday Times. Kona writes about Sonke’s work with the mother of murdered Sandiswa Mhlawuli, who seeks justice for her daughter who was allegedly killed by an ex-boyfriend. » Read the full article: a Mother’s Search for Justice and Protection
Sonke presents dialogue series for Jodi Bieber’s “Quiet”
Sonke is proud to present and support two dialogues for Jodi Bieber’s Quiet at Johannesburg’s Goodman Gallery. The topics of the dialogues are Masculinity, Power, Equality and Justice, and The Performance of Masculinity in Art and the Media. Attendance is open to all! Download the invitation below. » Download the invitation: Jodi Bieber – Quiet
The Missing Peace: Sexual Violence in Conflict and Post-Conflict Settings
We are very pleased to announce the release of a 12-minute video highlighting the main takeaways from “The Missing Peace: Sexual Violence in Conflict and Post-Conflict Settings” symposium which Sonke co-hosted in Washington DC late last year together with Promundo, the World Bank, SIPRI and the US Institute of Peace. The Missing Peace 2013 Symposium […]
10 reasons why South Africa can and must spend R10 billion to end GBV
Around the world today, women will be celebrated. But celebration is not enough. Women must also be respected, and their rights protected. In South Africa, an estimated 1.5 million rapes occur every year, most unreported. On International Women’s Day, we don’t want lip-service about women and ending gender-based violence, we want investment and a clear […]
Sonke schedule at 2014 UN Commission on the Status of Women
Saturday 8 March is International Women’s Day and a Sonke Gender Justice delegation will be on their way to New York to participate in the United Nation’s 58th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). We hope that those of you in New York will attend the events next week where members of our delegation […]
Sonke, Promundo and MenEngage host consultation on engaging men in SRHR in Washington DC
The meeting is being convened by the MenEngage Secretariat, Sonke and Promundo for the purpose of gaining a more detailed understanding of how men and boys can be engaged effectively as allies in SRHR for women and girls, and as proactive agents for their own health. The meeting brings together policymakers, practitioners and other concerned […]
Urgent call for AU to respond to gender and sexuality rights violations in Africa, particularly anti-gay laws passed in Uganda and Nigeria
As African civil society organisations whose members live and work to improve the lives of all Africans, we condemn in the strongest terms, the disturbing increase in sexuality and gender-related rights violations and abuses, especially those aimed at women and gender non-conforming people, and people in same sex relations including lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-identifying […]
Stop the deportation of Dr. Paul Semugoma
The Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) publishes a press statement from the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) Civil Society Sectors and human rights organisations, including Sonke. The statement calls on the South African Government to halt the deportation of Dr. Paul Semugoma to Zimbabwe or Uganda and to release him immediately. » Read the […]
Sonke’s Hanna Jansson, Bafana Khumalo and Tim Shand write in Genderlinks that SADC must engage men for gender equality
The 2013 Global Gender Gap Report reveals that gender gaps across the globe are slowly starting to close. Although international and regional gender equality instruments are helping to close these gaps, many parts of the world, including Southern Africa are still a far from achieving equality. One important factor hindering this achievement is that our […]
Sonke Gender Justice reminds media to respect ethics in Pistorius trial and not to ignore other cases of intimate partner homicide
By the end of the first week of the trial in which Oscar Pistorius is charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, around 21 South African women will have been killed at the hands of their boyfriends and husbands. It is unlikely that any of these women will receive the media attention their lives deserve, […]
Let’s get some perspective on intimate partner homicide
Sonke Gender Justice reminds the media to respect ethics in Oscar Pistorius trial and not to ignore other cases of intimate partner homicide. By the end of the first week of the trial in which Oscar Pistorius is charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, around 21 South African women will have been killed at […]
Vuyiseka Dubula joins Sonke as head of the Policy Development and Advocacy Programme
Sonke Gender Justice is pleased to announce that beginning March 1, Vuyiseka Dubula joins Sonke as head of the Policy Development and Advocacy Programme. In this portfolio, she will oversee Sonke’s work with the Commission for Gender Equality, the National Council Against Gender-Based Violence, and South Africa’sParliament. Dubula is the outgoing Secretary General of the […]
Read Dr Steve Letsike’s open letter to African leaders after Uganda outlawed homosexuality
Dear African Leaders, I hope this letter finds you in good health. I want to just say I am deeply disappointed, hurt and scared of you. I wake up every morning and I question my thoughts and views of african renaissance, I question my birth right, my ability to decide to build a family, I […]
Call for schools to help sexual violence victims
The Cape Argus wrote about UWC, Sonke, USAID & GIZ’s IATT symposium yesterday and today exploring sexual violence in the education sector. Yesterday, the Interagency Task force (including representatives from UNAIDS, UNESCO, USAID/PEFAR and others) was taken to different institutions that work with youth to look at this, hear from educators, administrators, social services and […]
Sex Through the Lens: Transforming Gender Attitudes Through Film
Sonke will be screening three short films at the Labia Theatre, Orange Street in Cape Town on Saturday March 1st from 4:00pm to 6:15pm. The screening, entitled “Sex Through the Lens – Transforming Gender Attitudes through Film,” looks at how film is able to influence, challenge and even change public opinion and discourse around gender, […]
Dr Paul Semugoma saved from deportation to Uganda
Sonke welcomes the news that Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor has offered Ugandan gay rights activist Dr Paul Semugoma the previously rejected skills work permit, saving him from being deported to Uganda, where he could be hanged. » Read the full article
Sonke celebrates the dropping of the Traditional Courts Bill
Sonke joins many civil society organisations in celebrating the dropping of the egregious Traditional Courts Bill! This is a significant victory, although the struggle for rural democracy continues. » Read Sonke’s full press statement
Ugandan gay rights activist Dr Paul Semugoma saved from deportation
Great news from the M&G: Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor offers Ugandan gay rights activist Dr Paul Semugoma the previously rejected skills work permit, saving him from being deported to Uganda where he could be hanged. An important read: “Ugandan gay rights activist Dr Paul Semugoma’s dramatic week is an example of what can happen if […]
Somali stands up for refugees who fled to Cape Town
Sonke’s Bongani Kona has a feature article published in this weekend’s Weekend Argus. He profiles Abdillahi Mohamed, a Somali refugee who fled conflict in his homeland and now trains Somali refugees in Cape Town about sexual and reproductive health and rights. » Read the full article
This Valentine’s Day, don’t ignore the screams next door
The Mail & Guardian ran a piece on Valentine’s Day, by Sonke’s Czerina Patel, Dean Peacock and Patrick Godana, exhorting South Africans to remember that all sectors in society need to act to stop gender-based violence. Click the link to read the full article. » Comment: This Valentines Day dont ignore the screams next door
Mmoho Campaign Press Release: 30% of Teenagers Face Pregnancy
During STI and Condom week (10-14 February), the Mmoho Campaign draws attention to the high rate of unplanned teenage pregnancy, the consequences of high-risk sexual practices and related issues of unsafe abortion, maternal mortality, and health risks including the spread of HIV & AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. » Read the full press release
Sonke Gender Justice welcomes 22 year jail sentencing of man convicted for abducting and raping a teenage girl; condemns practice of “ukuthwala” as a criminal and serious human rights violation
Sonke Gender Justice welcomes the sentencing yesterday of a man convicted for the trafficking and rape of a 14-year old girl. “This is a groundbreaking moment,” says Bafana Khumalo, Sonke’s Senior Programme Specialist in response to this first conviction of “ukuthwala” – the practice of kidnapping or selling children for marriage – in the Western […]
Don’t Ignore the Screams Next Door
Sonke’s OPED in the M&G online on what we each can do to prevent another Reeva Steenkamp or Anene Booysen: Read the full article in the Mail & Guardian
