Joint statement by the Western Cape Government and Cape Higher Education Consortium on the virtual Gender Symposium held today
Today, the Western Cape Government (WCG) in partnership with the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC) hosted a virtual Gender Symposium. The objective of the event was to bring together the Western Cape university researchers, NGOs, government officials and practitioners to build on the existing knowledge and evidence-base on gender issues with the goal to mainstream gender in the Western Cape. The event builds on previous engagements in the Western Cape Government (WCG) to strengthen the whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to gender-based violence (GBV).
Minister of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez, who opened the event and is the WCG lead on GBV, noted that “we meet at a time when the killing of women and children has reached unprecedented levels. A time which requires us to dig deep, combine resources and review everything we have done to date if we wish to curb the scourge of gender-based violence, femicide and interpersonal violence. But what encourages me during these challenging times is that, despite the complexities in addressing interpersonal violence in the Province, I see the commitment by people who came together today to develop the knowledge and experience to better respond to this challenge”.
CHEC Board Member and University of Cape Town Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Transformation, Prof Loretta Feris said: “Institutions of Higher Learning continue to grapple with the challenges of patriarchy, sexism and sexual and gender-based violence, and it is time to bring researchers, practitioners and government closer together into a forward-looking evidence-driven programme of action”.
Reflecting on how women, and women in the informal sector in particular, were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 lockdown, Professor Thuli Madonsela said, “there was no intention to harm, but there was harm. The culprit was indifference to difference and disadvantage in policy design”. She called on policy makers and researchers to take difference and disadvantage into account when developing policies and programmes aimed at advancing gender equality and addressing past inequalities. She noted the need to provide “ladders” and remove “weights” of those groups who were disadvantaged by the past.
Chairperson of the Women’s Shelter Movement, Advocate Bernadine Bacher, highlighted: “The gaps existing in the pending legislation out for comment, namely, the Victim Support Services Bill and the Domestic Violence Amendment Bill, must be taken into consideration, in light of the unintended consequences that these Bills propose to fighting gender-based violence across our communities.”
The event coordinator, Karen Shippey of the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, said that it was time to engage gender mainstreaming across all sectors to build a safer and stronger society.
The Symposium noted that any approach to prevent and reduce the effects of gender-based violence requires a whole-of-society, integrated and holistic approach to supporting victims of GBV. It further acknowledged the need to break the intergenerational cycle of violence by addressing the root causes of GBV, which includes addressing societal norms around gender and violence.
Gender mainstreaming in policy design can be strengthened if the experiences of women and children are at the centre of policy development and implementation. This includes applying a gender lens to government services – such as how transport, water provision, and other basic services are accessed and sued by women.
Speakers from both academia and practice included Prof Thuli Madonsela (University of Stellenbosch), Bridgette Mdangayi (National Business Initiative), Shehnaz Cassim Moosa (City of Cape Town) and Sixolile Ncobo (Commission on Gender Equality) to name but a few. The participants actively engaged in lively discussions on transformative policy, dealing with GBV and sectoral approaches.
Premier Alan Winde commended the speakers and participants saying “this type of valuable engagement opens networks and structures for government to engage more deeply on how to fundamentally change the status quo. I would like to thank our research partners as well those working throughout society to engender positive change. The Western Cape Government values strong partnerships such as the one with CHEC to build a better and safer tomorrow for all.
The Western Cape has committed to prioritising safety, jobs and dignity and well-being in our recovery plan and this is the beginning of a fuller conversation which must continue if we are to reduce violence against women and children, support economic opportunities and promote the dignity and well-being of all our residents."
