Provincial leadership of COSATU
Comrades from various affiliates present
I am very excited to be with you today, to actually be at home in this province and with the members of the trade union movement.
I would like to use this opportunity to outline the work we are involved in as the Ministry of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities. As we are in middle of the 16 Days of Activism Campaign on No Violence Against Women and Children, we need to also discuss this campaign. I believe that support from organised labour is crucial for further strengthening of the campaign both at the workplace and in communities where workers live.
The strategic thrust of the ministry is to advance policy and achieve measurable milestones on mainstreaming gender, children’s rights, and disability considerations into the programmes of government and other sectors of society in line with international and regional commitments made in these areas.
The strategic framework of the department has been developed and this is supported by a budget proposal and an organisational structure that we believe will support the implementation of the programme of action of the department.
Like all other new or reconfigured departments, we have submitted our organogram to the Department of Public Service and Administration for consideration and endorsement. We have already advertised for the position of the Director-General and the selection process will commence immediately after the closing date which is 7 December.
Since 1994, the government has endeavoured to build an inclusive and socially cohesive, democratic society through a process of socio-economic and political transformation. Our ministry is building on the progress made over the past 15 years. We are ensuring that our country honours all the regional and international commitments and protocols such as the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against women, Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
We aim to establish effective institutional mechanisms for social and economic empowerment, equalisation of opportunities and access to resources for women, children and persons with disabilities. The mainstreaming of issues related to these three targeted groups requires strong collaboration with other departments, provincial and local government, civil society, labour and business.
We have to ensure that the social security net is tighter and poverty alleviation programmes benefit primarily the many women, children and persons with disabilities who continue to live in conditions of abject poverty.
While we continue with the process of consultation with stakeholders on the programme of action for the department, the following issues have emerged as critical particularly for women.
These are:
* responding to the challenge of feminisation of poverty
* creation of decent jobs and economic empowerment of women
* increasing the representation of women in positions of decision-making and in management levels towards 50 percent parity
* eradication of violence against women.
Since it is 16 Days of Activism, let me focus on the last point which is violence against women and children. The 16 Days of Activism Campaign takes place annually from 25 November which is an International Day of No Violence Against Women. It runs up to the 10 of December which is an International Human Rights Day.
The period of the campaign coincides with commemoration of the World AIDS Day on 1 December and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December. This allows us to focus on the link between sexual violence and the spread of HIV infection (which I will come back to later) as well as incidents of abuse experienced by persons with disabilities.
Under the theme, “Don’t look away, act against abuse the campaign focuses on increasing awareness of the detrimental effect of violence on women, children and society as a whole. The year 2009 officially marks the ten year anniversary of the 16 Days of Activism Campaign in South Africa.
Although the campaign has succeeded in raising awareness amongst the South African public, the abuse of children and women continue to occur. The crime statistics released by South African Police Services (SAPS) in September this year indicate an increase in sexual offences which stood at 71 500 cases. From July 2008 to June 2009, close to 40 000 cases of rape were enrolled for the first time in the magistrate courts across the country.
This disjuncture between the high level of awareness and persisting abuse was a major focus of the stakeholder Summit which marked the start of the campaign on Wednesday 25 November. The summit discussed measures needed to build on the current high levels of awareness and turn that into behavioural changes and therefore, reduction of cases of abuse. It discussed a number of interventions needed to ensure an effective response to the growing scourge of gender violence and violation of children’s rights. The Ministry of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities will be taking these recommendations forward.
Working together with other government departments and civil society partners, the Ministry of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities wants to ensure that this campaign is sustained throughout the year. We will certainly need the support of labour and other sectors to implement the 365 days national action plan against gender based violence.
In response to the terrible cases of abduction, rape and murder of little children, the Ministry of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities commissioned a study which seeks to build a profile of child murderers currently held in correctional service centres. The outcomes of the study will be released as soon as the verification process is finalised.
While we finalise this work, it is becoming apparent that the use of drugs and alcohol abuse are the most common factors identified amongst people who have been convicted of these crimes. We therefore need to intensify the response to drug trade and use. We should also intensify enforcement of existing restrictions with regard to access to alcohol and highlight negative effect of alcohol abuse through various means including messages on the containers of alcoholic beverages.
We are confident that as the SAPS reinforces security measures for the December festive season; the issues of safety of women and children will be high on the strategies to combat crime during this period. We have also called on the Independent Complaints Directorate to act firmly against police officers involved in cases of abuse. We cannot allow our police force to be tainted with issues of rape and child killing as it gears up for a massive crime combating effort that this government has committed to under the leadership of President Jacob Zuma.
We are encouraged by the process of re-establishment of specialised police units dealing with domestic and sexual offences and other crimes against women and children. This development will mobilise the expertise needed to enhance management and successful prosecution of crimes against women and children.
The criminal justice system needs to also strengthen its focus on the needs of the survivors of abuse. Investigating officers need to engage closely with the survivor when investigating for purposes of bail applications because of its potential to cause severe distress to the survivor. Survivors become anxious when the alleged perpetrator is released on bail especially because the accused is often known to the complainant.
As we build up to the World AIDS Day on Tuesday, we have to urge rape survivors to fully utilise the provisions of the Sexual Offences Amendment Act. Survivors have a right to request compulsory HIV testing of an alleged offender. This application should be brought within 90 days of the alleged sexual offence. We have to ensure that survivors know about this provision and are able to utilise it.
We also have to ensure that survivors have access to post exposure prophylaxis. This includes ensuring that antiretroviral drugs are always available for prevention of HIV for rape survivors.
As the Ministry of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities, it is our duty to ensure that victim empowerment services are well coordinated and accessible to the many victims of sexual assault.
Let us work together to prevent cases of abuse, to ensure that perpetrators face the full might of the law and that survivors get the support needed for them to deal with the trauma.
Let us work for a South Africa where women and children can walk the street of our country with no fear of being attacked. Let us ensure that all our people enjoy freedom, security and respect for their human rights.
Thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities
29 November 2009
