Programme Director, Advocate Majokweni
The First Lady, Mama Makhumalo Zuma
Paramount Chief for Eastern Pondoland, Chief Mpondombini Sigcau, “Thandizulu!!!”
National House of Traditional Leaders and Congress of Traditional Leaders
Eastern Cape MEC for Social Development, Ms Mvana
Mayor of Mbizana, Mr Twabu
Councillors of Mbizana and Ngquza municipalities
Members of the Executive Council of the Eastern Cape
Members of the diplomatic corps, and in particular: the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark, His Excellency Dan Frederickson
The management of Bizana, Lusikisiki, Nelson Mandela and Butterworth hospital complexes
Representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
President of National African Federation Chamber of Commerce (NAFCOC) Women’s Chamber, Ms Makgae
Esteemed delegates from all 25 wards of Mbizana
Non-governmental organisations (NGO) coalition
Traditional Healers Association
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
We humbly extend a warm word of gratitude to Chief Mpondombini Sigcau, and the national House of Traditional Leaders for coming on board. We thank the Chief and the honourable Chairperson, Khosi Kutama, for putting all else aside to grace today’s proceedings. Indeed we are honoured to have among us our honourable First Lady, Mama Makhumalo Zuma. Mntungwa, ubukhona bakho buzomisa isibindi amakhosikazi onke ahlukumezekile. Siyethemba ukuthi uyoba udondolo lwabo izinsuku zonke. Mntungwa uyimbokodo.
Your presence here testifies to the seriousness with which our democratic nation wants to elevate the women’s struggles for equality and freedom from violence.
We are humbled to be with so many committed activists in the fight against gender based violence who bring a wealth of experience. Your presence is indeed a source of tremendous strength and inspiration. We thank warmly the inter-departmental management team, Malibongwe Development Organisation, the national House of Traditional Leaders, Contralesa, civil society, youth formations, Mbizana municipality, communities at large, the United States Agency for International Development and the Danish government, for their consistent and continued support of our Thuthuzela Care Centres.
We congratulate, salute, and thank the Sexual Offences and Community Affairs unit of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), under the capable leadership of Advocate Thoko Majokweni, for coming up with a concrete plan to fight impunity in cases of violence against women and children. I cannot convey my warm greetings to you without remembering countless victims of gender based violence. I would like to pay a special tribute to the brave women who have survived, and to remember the countless women we have lost tragically to gender based violence.
Indeed today will go down as a very important day in the history of the struggle for the improvement of the status of women in South Africa, and in particular, of women in rural communities. We are here to launch the Thuthuzela Care Centre and to convene the Ndabezitha Roundtable discussion later this afternoon. It is important that we discuss sexual and gender based violence in the broader context of unequal power relations in society and of the histories of our different societies, many of which still bear the scars of colonialism, patriarchy and apartheid.
Gender violence poses a serious threat to equality and to the broader development of women in South Africa. The nature and extent of the violence experienced is such that it grossly violates women’s rights. Today’s gathering is important because it falls within the 16 Days of Activism Campaign for No Violence Against Women and Children. In two days time, we will be marking the end of the official period of the campaign.
Launching this Thuthuzela Care Centre and convening the Ndabezitha round the table at this time show our commitment to the elimination of violence against women. The campaign ends on 10 December, during the International Human Rights Day. I just want to emphasise that women’s rights are no less than human rights.
Mr Zola Skweyiya, former Minister of Social Development has emphasised this fact, thus:
“Protection against violence is a human right. Domestic violence, violence against women and children, should be seen as part of a continuum of oppression of the most disempowered in our society. Therefore, our strategies and programmes need to deal with structural causes of violence as well as symptoms.”
All our Ministers of Justice, since the realisation of our democratic government, have emphasised the importance of improving access to justice for all, particularly to historically disadvantaged groups, such as women, children and persons with disabilities and rural communities. It is important to note that this social ill turns to be systematic, and even countries with mature democracies, such as America are still struggling with this form of violence.
This year, the United States is commemorating 15 years of the Violence Against Women Act, enacted by the United States Congress in 1994. In proclaiming October the National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, United States President Barack Obama said:
“Domestic violence touches the lives of Americans of all ages, leaving a devastating impact on women, men, and children of every background and circumstance. A family’s home becomes a place of fear, hopelessness, and desperation when a woman is battered by her partner, a child witnesses the abuse of a loved one, or a senior is victimised by a family member”.
The question of gender oppression has a long history, in our country and elsewhere in the world; the apartheid government, legal and systemised gender oppression, thereby destroying family values and traditions. The point we have to emphasise is that unequal power relations between men and women in society and at home lie at the heart of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Among other things, these power relations are the result of social attitudes, cultural practices, patriarchal structures of society, and unequal access to opportunities, like education and employment.
The imbalances in society, impact negatively on the care and protection of the children. Hence, we are struggling with the high incidence of sexual and other forms of violence. The eradication of sexual and gender based violence will require fundamental social change: fundamental changes in the socio-economic conditions under which the majority of people in our country and continent live, fundamental changes to patriarchal attitudes that characterise our societies. Without such fundamental social change, the interventions by our criminal justice system will continue to have minimal impact.
Today’s theme is: ‘Ending Violence, Enhancing the Lives of Women and Girls in Rural Communities’. It speaks to both the objectives of Thuthuzela and to programme Ndabezitha. The theme captures clearly the main aim of Thuthuzela Care Centres, which is to promote the healing of psychological scars caused by gender violence and abuse, thereby enhancing the lives of women and girls in rural communities of Bizana.
Thuthuzela Care Centres offer services and support to women and girls who have fallen victim to domestic violence and sexual abuse. Their services are prosecutor led, victim centred and geared to prevent secondary victimisation of victims and or survivors. The centres provide professional space for women who have been deeply hurt. These centres are what we can call in the words of Tata Madiba, the Reconstruction and Development Programme of the soul.
“Ingane namakhosikazi bafika eThuthuzela behlukumezekile kakhulu, isilonda sangaphakathi sibhibha”.
Thuthuzela centres provide them with a new beginning and a new direction to recover from the shattering experience of violence that has broken their dreams about the notion of love, caring relationships and happy families. Thuthuzela care centres cannot succeed with services provided by only one group. This model needs the mobilisation and commitment of the entire community. The chiefs have a pivotal role to play in the eradication of violence against women and in the provision of support and endorsement of a centre like this one. Women formations have a crucial role to play in support of those women who have broken the silence and came to the Centre for help. It takes a lot of courage to speak out.
To date, 17 Thuthuzela care centres have been rolled out (as well as 54 dedicated sexual offences courts). The phenomenal launches and success rates of Thuthuzela care centres points to the important strides we make when we work together, in partnerships, to deliver a better life for all our people. The courts and dedicated police officers have a significant role to play in all this. Without them, perpetrators will become a law unto themselves and justice will not be done or be seen to be done.
Recently, a nine month old baby was raped and women of this community rolled their sleeves up and cried for help through picketing, in front of the magistrate’s court. They called for “no bail” for the perpetrator of such a horrendous crime. As we speak, the police are investigating the perpetrator of another gruesome murder of 3 women using ikhuba. We heard your cry and your call for a speedy end to the senseless violence. Hence the launch of this dedicated specialised unit, the Thuthuzela Care Centre at St Patricks Hospital. This multi-sectoral unit would ensure a shorter-turn around for cases of domestic violence and other sexual offences.
Later on, after this launch, we will come together to the round table, to have a debate on the program of action called Ndabezitha. The partnership of Malibongwe Development Organisation, the Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA) unit of the NPA and traditional leaders, aims at “ending violence” against women and girls, through capacity building. This will be achieved by strengthening our mobilisation and education drive intended to break the shackles of domestic violence that stand in the way of women’s emancipation and empowerment.
The round the table will help find ways of ensuring that traditional leaders, and others who have been trained under Programme Ndabezitha, return to their communities to train and empower others. It will explore ways of intervening when custom violates the constitutional rights of women and girls. The role of traditional leaders is fundamental to the success of Ndabezitha. Our traditional leaders and healers occupy an important position in our communities. It is through these important leaders of the people that we can take these discussions back to our villages. We ask humbly, our traditional leaders to take this dialogue back to our meetings and homesteads.
Ndabezitha is an excellent initiative focusing on training and public legal education, boys’ clinics, restorative justice and other capacity building programmes. It will help us to strengthen and intensify our awareness raising campaign, and also help in empowering survivors through victim empowerment and economic programmes. A matter of great concern is the fact that, not all victims of domestic violence utilises legal processes, like a protection order or criminal action, as appropriate intervention measures.
The fact that they are in domestic relationships with their abusers often raises loyalty issues that compel them to consider prosecution as an enemy rather than a solution. It is in response to these predicaments that programme Ndabezitha was born. In a nutshell, our theme also signals the urgent need to intervene in the numerous violent murders of women growing day in and day out in this municipality. “Ending violence” is also meant to send a powerful message against the unacceptable levels of the rape of children.
But, as the late Minister of Justice, Dullar Omar, once cautioned, crime cannot be prevented or reduced without the active involvement of all citizens, community groups and civil society organisations, hence a collaboration with women veterans, who have traditionally and historically been trusted with women’s issues, Malibongwe Development project, MALIBONGWE! South Africa has ratified and adopted important instruments for the protection and promotion of the rights of women, including:
* The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1995
* The Beijing Declaration and its platform for action in 1995
* The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and
Government Declaration on Gender and development and it’s addendum on the prevention and eradication of violence against women and children in 1997
* The Millennium Declaration and its eight development goals in 2000
* Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa in 2003.
Our Constitution also extends equality to all, irrespective of gender or sex orientation. Legislation has recently been approved by the Cabinet to combat trafficking in women and children as well as a Bill combating harassment that will extend the protection offered by the Domestic Violence Act. In 2000, following a Cabinet instruction, government formed the inter-departmental management team to develop an anti-rape strategy. It is an inter-sectoral initiative, led by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development through the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The team’s aim is to develop an integrated and sustainable anti-rape strategy.
Politically, women continue to make gains in their struggles for equality. For example, resolutions at the Polokwane ANC conference of 2007 are a powerful index of achievements of women over time. The decision by the ANC to raise women’s representation to 50% in government will, certainly strengthen women’s voices in public life. Hopefully, all women representatives will be vocal on issues pertaining to no violence against women and children.
Beyond this, the ANC government, under the leadership of President Zuma, went ahead to establish a ministry focusing on the agenda of women and other vulnerable groups in society, the Ministry for Women, Youth and People with Disabilities. We welcome the ministry and affirm our belief that Minister Mayende-Sibiya will be a moral authority of no violence against women. She will be our voice when women and children have to seek justice in the country.
Our government has taken considerable action to address constitutional and human rights violations against women and the girl child, by establishing strong partnerships and alliances with civil society, the private sector, donor community and other stakeholders. The integrated, multi-sectoral approach of government in addressing violence against women includes some of the following measures:
* The 365 day national plan of action to end gender violence
? An annual 16 Days of Activism Campaign for No Violence Against Women and Children.
* The involvement of men and boys as partners in fighting violence against women and in changing attitudes and behaviour patterns
* The establishment of equality courts and dedicated sexual offences courts
* The victim empowerment programmes and the Thuthuzela care centres as 24 hour one-stop centres where victims have access to services such as the police, counselling, doctors, court preparation and prosecution.
It is therefore appropriate to pay tribute to giants of our struggle such as Charlotte Maxeke, Dorothy Nyembe, Lillian Ngoyi, Ellen Khuzwayo, Albertinah Sisulu, Nonzamo Mandela, Adelaide Tambo and many other unsung heroines whose revolutionary campaigns gave birth to a brand salute, “Malibongwe”.
Their contribution to the realisation of the vision of a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous nation in which women are free will be remembered forever. May their daring spirit guide us in all we do!
Although law enforcement agencies present opportunities to prevent and respond to violence, this needs to be supplemented by work in all other spheres of life: in homes, religious communities, media, schools, and workplaces.
This is necessary because violence against women and girls continues unabated. One of our main challenges is to create a safe society, provide systems that can be responsive to violence when it occurs, expand access to justice, and construct a social context that clearly and consistently rejects all forms of gender violence. It is essential that we should treat sexual and gender based violence as a crime and make it part of government's number one priority in the fight against crime and the causes of crime. We are currently overhauling the criminal justice system to ensure that the levels of crime are drastically reduced and that corruption is stamped out. If our criminal justice system fails to combat violence against women and children, it would have failed all of us, especially women and girls!
We cannot claim victory in the fight against crime if we cannot claim victory in this battle. To this point, violence against women has received the most consistent and profound government attention albeit with limited resources. Most available resources have gone towards implementing the Domestic Violence Act, (Act 116 of 1998), combating sexual offences, raising public awareness, building capacity among service providers and perfecting an integrated response to this social scourge.
The leadership of Malibongwe will commit its members to support women who seek help from the Thuthuzela Care Centre. We encourage other survivors to pick up the baton and commit to supporting this initiative. Today’s launch gives us an opportunity to strengthen partnerships, to forge a common purpose, to intensify the campaign to eradicate violence against women and girls. With the support of umama wethu and amakhosi, we should mobilise communities to urge the leadership to have shelters in all communities.
To those participating in the Ndabezitha round the table this afternoon, we welcome and invite frank discussions. Your contributions will go a long way in shaping the vision and outcomes we seek to achieve through sustainable partnerships under programme Ndabezitha.
Lastly, the struggle to end violence against women in South Africa is central to our national liberation. South Africans cannot be free as long as women are vulnerable to abuse, assault, rape and murder. We will tell no lies and claim no easy victories; but will fight side by side, men and women, girls and boys, until gender rights are won.
Thank you!
Issued by: Department of Correctional Service
8 December 2009
