N Hangana: 16 Days of Activism Campaign launch

25 November 2007

Programme director, MEC for Local Government and Housing, Mr Mafereka
Premier of the Free State province, Ms Beatrice Marshoff
Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers present here today
MECs
Mayors and councillors
Our traditional and religious leaders
Representatives of the South African Post Office
Our private sector partners in this campaign
Representatives of our Civil Society Organisation partners
Representatives of our Constitutional Chapter 9 institutions present
Distinguished guests
Senior officials from all three spheres of government
Ladies and gentlemen
Fellow South Africans

Greetings to all of you who have gathered here today to witness and to
support the launch of the 2007 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against
Women and Children!

Greetings to those of you who are from the host province, the Free State,
and also greetings to those who have travelled from our other eight provinces
to support this national launch today.

Programme director; allow me to start by commending and thanking the Free
State Provincial Government for hosting this national event and for their
continued partnership in the fight against the abuse of women and children.
Just in May this year, we partnered with the province to undertake Road Shows
aimed at raising awareness about the campaign in three rural
municipalities.

As we have gathered here today we also need to acknowledge the hundreds and
thousands of men, boys, women and girls who are meeting in similar events
throughout the country and the world. Indeed, today we can say that we are part
of country-wide and global movement for the next 15 days. Our message over this
period in all corners of the globe will be a loud, united and unambiguous one,
"No to the abuse of our women and children!"

Ladies and gentlemen, today marks the first day of the 16 Days of Activism
Campaign for 2007. Today, 25 November 2007, is the International Day for the
Elimination of Violence against Women. That means, at different centres around
the world, people are gathered to renew their commitment to ending violence
directed at women. For instance, on our continent in Nigeria, there is
presently a drive for women to participate as equal citizens in the 2007
elections. Further a field in Canada, one of the campaign events entails
displaying white sheets on buildings and homes as a symbol of solidarity with
victims of gender-based violence and abuse.

We, as South Africans, not only share the commitment to end gender-based
violence being demonstrated across the globe, but we want protection and safety
for our children as well! That is why our campaign in South Africa has, since
1999, been referred to as the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women
and Children Campaign.

It has been a great honour for me to serve as the National Convener of this
campaign in South Africa since 2006. My primary focus has been to focus on, and
be at the forefront of, the fight against the abuse of women and children. This
campaign seeks to uphold the rights and restore the dignity of the most
vulnerable in our society. It is therefore no accident that this 16 Days of
Activism Campaign culminates on 10 December, which is International Human
Rights Day.

Ladies and gentlemen, for the next 15 days, we as a nation will be engaging
in various activities, events and programmes aimed at raising awareness around
the scourge of violence and abuse of our women and children. Some of the events
and programmes will coincide with commemorative dates that fall within the 16
Days of Activism Campaign period. On 1 December, for example, is World AIDS
Day. This day provides an opportunity to draw attention to how the pandemic
particularly affects women and children and how, if coupled with gender-based
violence, increases women and children's vulnerability.

Our view in government is that there is a clear link between violence
against women and HIV infection. Socio-economic factors, unequal gender and
sexual relations, unprotected sex, and alcohol and drug abuse are among the
factors that have increased the negative impact of HIV and AIDS. Therefore,
behaviour change programmes form part of government's prevention efforts to
stop the spread of HIV and AIDS. These programmes are especially important
during the festive season when increased violence and risky behaviour make
women more vulnerable.

Programmes that seek to respond to the needs of the affected and infected
are planned. Some of the departments and organisations represented here today
have sent their programmes for the campaign period to my office. I commend and
thank them.

Programme director, research conducted has shown that the level of awareness
of the 16 days campaign has grown from 16 percent in 2003 to 33 percent in
2006. Although the level of awareness of the 16 Days Campaign has grown
tremendously in both urban and rural areas, the abuse of women and children in
the country remains unacceptably high.

We continue to be very disturbed when we still hear and read of incidents
such as the one pertaining to the discovery of bodies of women killed and left
to rot in the sugar cane fields of Umzinto in KwaZulu-Natal. Incidents such as
this show that, we are far from winning the battle, they show that women are
still not free.

Therefore, in line with the 365 days programme that the Deputy President and
I launched earlier this year, we all need to continue, not only with our
awareness raising efforts, but also with more sustainable programmes that will
benefit those women and children especially living in rural and informal
settlements and who seldom benefit from our interventions.

Ladies and gentlemen, the highlight of this year's campaign is the "Million
Men's March". This morning, thousands of men and boys in all nine provinces
participated in marches, together with women and girls, in a symbolic display
of support for our campaign. In 2007 we have had a special focus on men and the
boy child as they are key to winning our fight against the abuse of women and
children.

The Million Men's March was conceived to sharpen this focus and mainstream
the participation of our men and boys in this campaign. We also need to see the
Million Men's March as a challenge to every sector to mobilise our men in
massive numbers so that we indeed reach this number of a million men and
participants in our campaign as we go forward into 2008 and beyond.

The participation of the various sectors of our society in the Million Men's
March is very encouraging. One example of this is the One Man Can Campaign.
This campaign provides men and boys with resources to act on their concerns
about domestic and sexual violence. It was launched in 2006 in conjunction with
the 16 Days of Activism Campaign. This campaign provides an action toolkit for
men that include a resource directory, workshop materials and information on
how to develop healthy relationships and how to support victims of
violence.

The programme co-ordinator of the Sonke Gender Justice Network, Mr Nyanda
ka-Khanyile, that developed this toolkit has said that, "We, men and boys, do
worry about the safety of women and girls including their partners, sisters,
mothers, girlfriends, wives, co-workers, neighbours, classmates and fellow
congregants, and want to play a role in creating a safer and more just
world….As one man you can demand justice, love passionately, stop AIDS, and end
violence, you can stop violence on your own".

Mr ka-Khanyile went further to say that, "When a woman is abused and it goes
unchallenged, that means all women are vulnerable to abuse too, my mother and
sister and yours, and we as men and boys, have to stand up and stop the abuse
perpetrated by other men".

We are aware of many other similar positive initiatives focused on men and
boys, such as Engender Health and the Agisanang Domestic Abuse Prevention and
Training Men's Programme. We hope that those men and boys who have been abusers
and perpetrators of violence will today ask forgiveness and commit to adopting
different and better ways of dealing with conflict and anger in their relations
with women and children. This is an important step in our objective of creating
a truly free society, a society where children can play on the pavements
without parents fearing that they might be enticed away and be abused, raped,
mutilated and killed, a society where women can walk confidently anywhere, at
any time, wearing what they want, and know that they are still safe.

Indeed, we know that the majority of the heinous acts of violence against
women and children take place in their homes or close to their homes and are
inflicted by people they know and trust. That is why most people do not
intervene if they suspect violence is taking place. They are afraid of
interfering in what they consider to be "private family or domestic
matters".

Ladies and gentlemen, as we launch this campaign for 2007, the question must
be asked, "What can I do to support the fight of No Violence against Women and
Child Abuse" There are a number of practical tasks, duties and opportunities
that speak to all of us.

Firstly, how we raise our children is of utmost importance. It directly
impacts on the type of adults they will turn out to be. Teaching our children
restraint, self control and respect for themselves and for others will go a
long way in building the kind of society we want to live in. Teaching our
children non-violent and constructive ways of handling disagreement and
conflict should be given priority in our homes, crèches, schools, churches,
mosques, synagogues, playgrounds, and sport fields. More importantly, it is
what we do as parents and adults, rather than what we tell our children to do,
that is paramount.

Secondly, we should instil in our families, places of learning and worship
that when our women and children are economically dependent this does not
extend to the bread-winners and primary care-givers the right to abuse. Every
person deserves to be treated with respect and human dignity, as prescribed by
our Constitution.

Thirdly, ladies and gentlemen, the third of December is International Day
for People with Disabilities. Unfortunately, women with disabilities are one
group that we often neglect. Women and girls with disabilities experience a
very high rate of violence and multiple abuses. In addition to struggling with
the same problems as other women who are abused, they might be faced with the
additional problem of being dependent on the batter for daily care. The
situation is often aggravated by the fear that if they seek help to end the
abuse, they might be forced into an institution where conditions might be
worse. Therefore, as we prepare our plans for next year's 16 days campaign, let
us consciously include programmes aimed at addressing the unique needs of women
and girls with disabilities.

Fourthly, other practical ways of supporting the campaign include:

* the wearing of a White Ribbon which symbolises support for the
campaign
* participating in the Postcard Pledge Campaign by obtaining, signing and
returning the campaign postcard to your nearest post office. This includes a
donation of R5
* participating in the cyber dialogues initiative, which is facilitated by
gender-links
* actively supporting, financially and otherwise, our various shelters and
places of safety that are doing outstanding work in supporting victims and
survivors of abuse
* getting involved in a range of local initiatives, programmes and events
organised by our various partners in our government departments and
municipalities, the non-governmental organisations (NGO) and community based
organisations (CBO) sectors, the religious fraternity and the private and
business community.

In conclusion, programme director; we would like to assure our people that,
as government, we are committed to ensuring a life free from violence for all,
especially for women and children. Our commitment is informed by the country's
obligations in terms of the Beijing Platform of Action (BPA), the convention on
the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the
Vienna Convention on Human Rights and related human rights norms.

Government has created an extensive policy and legislative framework that
deals with crime and signals to offenders that it will not tolerate violent
abuse. The Domestic Violence Act of 1998 and the Sexual Offences Bill reaffirms
the rights of women and children to live in a violence free society.

Furthermore, government has moved a step further in the process of
promulgating the Sexual Offences Bill, which when passed by the National
Council of Provinces (NCOP), will provide greater protection to vulnerable
persons who are victims of sexual offences. Also we are working towards
strengthening all police stations by equipping them with specialised units that
will focus on Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences.

We must do everything in our power to make women and children less
vulnerable, make them feel safe and free in our streets, at work and at home.
This is the challenge to all of us who are gathered here today: Do not look
away, Act Against Abuse!

In his weekly letter to the nation, the President Thabo Mbeki this last
Friday, has said, "There can be no such equality when the women of our country
continue to be victims of rape, domestic violence, patriarchal oppression and
discrimination, and other forms of abuse. The 16 Days of Activism Campaign must
aim and be organised to achieve practical results. We wish all activists for
the emancipation of women and the eradication of the scourge of violence
against women success."

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Provincial and Local Government
25 November 2007