The Role of Business in fighting Gender Based Violence
Introduction
Good morning to all of you. I must say I am honoured to be here today. Gender based violence remains a thorny issue in our society and forums such as this go a long way towards tinkering with dominant patriarchal practices and changing the mindsets of men in our society.
Platforms such as this one have an important role to play in tackling the challenges of gender based violence and confronting social ills prevalent in a patriarchal society.
The Men’s Forum is a powerful way of making the statement that as dominant perpetrators of gender based violence; men can also be part of the solution.
It’s a strong declaration that we are tired of standing on the sidelines while the abuse of women and children continues to ravage our society.
It’s also important that this forum is taking place during Human Rights month. It is not an exaggeration to say that although we won freedom in 1994, many women in this country, especially the poor, are still to experience the true meaning of freedom. Gender based violence is a fundamental human rights violation.
16 years ago, on 25 March 1997, a seven-year-old Mamokgethi Malebana from Katlehong was raped and murdered by Daniel Mabote.
She was neither the first nor the last. Since 1997, there have been countless other victims of sexual and gender based violence, named and unnamed, known and unknown.
Among the long list of victims is 17 year old Anene Booysen who was gang raped and brutally mutilated this year on the same date that political organisations were unbanned in South Africa (2nd February).
The elderly are also not sparred from these gruesome acts. In January this year, newspapers carried stories recounting the horrid rape of elderly women in the rural areas.
The Scale and Nature of Gender Based Violence Globally
Violence against women and children is a worldwide problem that plagues developed and developing countries, town and countryside, democracies and dictatorship as well as peaceful and conflict-ridden society.
The pervasive nature of this violence against women and children is demonstrated by the following statistics:
- 40% of girls and young women aged between 10-24 years report their first sexual encounter as coerced.
- In Sao Paulo, Brazil, a woman is assaulted every 15 seconds
- In Tanzania, nearly 28 percent of females reported at least one experience of sexual violence prior to the age of 18.
- Globally, one in five women report experiencing sexual abuse as children.
The Scale of Gender-based Violence in South Africa
In South Africa, 144 women report rape to police every day. This translates to six cases reported every hour.
According to the Medical Research Council, only 1 in 25 women in Gauteng report rape cases.
Crime statistics released last year for the period April 2011 to March 2012 show there were 64 514 sexual crime cases reported to police, down from 66 196 the year before.
A study conducted by Gender Links called the War@Home, which looked at the extent of gender based violence in Gauteng, Limpopo, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal made the following findings:
- Over 77% of women in Limpopo; 51% of women in Gauteng; 45% of women in the Western Cape and 36% of women in KwaZulu-Natal report experiencing some form of emotional, economic, physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime, both within and outside their intimate relationships.
- A higher proportion of men in Gauteng (78%) and KwaZulu-Natal (41%) admitted to perpetrating violence against women in their lifetime.
This is clearly a problem of great magnitude and requires the mobilisation of the entire society to resolve.
Women’s Economic Position and Gender Based Violence
There is an intricate link between women’s economic status, levels of education and income and the extent to which they are exposed to gender based violence.
The global economic crisis, among the many problems it has caused, has also led to a regression in terms of women’s economic status.
Many have lost their jobs, or have been forced to accept reduced benefits. Pregnant women have become soft targets for companies engaged in downsizing efforts.
At the same time that many people (especially women) have been forced out of the workforce and back into the home, social services have been reduced and household debt has increased.
In many countries, women have also been forced to bear the brunt for the increased roles and responsibilities as a result of the privatisation of social services and cuts in social spending and benefits.
The liberalisation of economies such as ours has adversely affected many sectors in which women are concentrated. This has undermined women’s economic freedom and makes them more dependent on men and vulnerable to gender based violence and abuse.
Job losses and retrenchments spurred by the global capitalist crisis have also negatively impacted on men’s roles and responsibilities under patriarchy, leading to increased violence including sexual violence and rape.
Why business should be concerned about Gender-based violence?
According to the World Bank, the lifetime opportunity cost related to adolescent pregnancy, a potential direct consequence of sexual violence against girls, can reach up to 30 percent of annual GDP in some countries.
The World Bank also reports that in Brazil, if teenage girls were able to delay pregnancy until their early twenties, its economy would be $3.5 billion more productive.
In India, this number is estimated at $7.7 billion
Up to 2 percent of GDP is lost annually in some developing countries due to the social costs such as teenage pregnancies, unemployment, and increased health risks of dropping out of school.
There are other direct social costs associated with gender based violence, including, increased costs on the health system and the criminal justice system.
Other indirect costs include lower productivity and earnings of women who are abused.
How can business play a role?
The social and economic costs of gender-based violence in society are simply too great to ignore. This reality makes business participation in the struggle against gender-based violence imperative. Business can get involved in the struggle against women abuse in the following ways:
- Business can play an advocacy and leadership role by actively promoting and funding campaigns against gender based violence.
- While the public sector has made great advances in gender equality, the same cannot be said about the private sector, which is still lagging far behind. Business must actively promote policies that encourage women’s active participation and leadership in business.
- Business has a critical role in engaging men in a drive to address patriarchal norms and change attitudes.
Conclusion
The daily scourge of rape, sexual, psychological and physical violence is an albatross that hangs on women’s shoulders and weighs heavily on their existence.
It is a good to see men - through platforms such as this one - raising their hands and declaring their willingness to share this load and participate in the struggle for the total elimination of abuse against women and children.
Thank you.
