National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence: engagement with lead departments

Meeting report

The Chairperson said the Multiparty Women’s Caucus was in quorum for the meeting.

The Chairperson noted apologies from Members who could not attend as well as the apologies received from the following Ministers and Deputy Ministers: Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth, and People with Disabilities; Ms Ayanda Dlodlo, Minister of Public Service and Administration; Ms Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation; Ms Candith Mashego-Dlamini, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation; Ms Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Tourism; and Ms Maggie Sotyu, Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment.

The delegation from the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) consisted of Ms Shoki Tshabalala, Deputy Director-General (DDG) and Ms Esther Maluleke, Chief Director (CD).  

Present for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) were Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs; Ms Avril Williamson, Director-General (DG) and Ms Lato Mabaso, Deputy Director: Public Participation.

The delegation from SALGA included Ms Nozibele Makanda, Portfolio Head; and Ms Nomawethu Xali, Senior Advisor: Parliamentary Affairs.  

Ms Lindiwe Zulu, Minister of Social Development; Ms Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, Deputy Minister of Social Development; Ms Boitumelo Moloi, Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour; Dr Chana Pilane-Majake, Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration; Pemmy Majodina, Chief Whip of the Majority Party; Ms Lakela Kaunda, Chief Operations Officer: Office of the President; and Ms Bunny Subedar, Director: Good Governance, NSG, were in attendance.

The Chairperson said this was the first meeting the Multiparty Women’s Caucus had since the recent local government elections, and said the elections required a lot of work to be successfully executed. She expressed condolences for the passing of Ms Hlengiwe Mkhize, Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth, and People with Disabilities, who passed away during September 2021, and noted this was the first meeting the Multiparty Women’s Caucus held since her passing. She noted it was day 601 of the country being put under lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and said the “16 Days of Activism” campaign started, and was launched by the DWYPD. DWYPD shifted its focus from awareness to accountability, and it is expected the DWYPD’s briefing will cover the progress made in this regard, by each of the government departments.

Briefing by the DWYPD on the implementation of the NSP on GBV

The first item on the agenda was for DWYPD to brief the Committee on the Implementation of Pillar 2: Prevention, Rebuilding, and Social Cohesion of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on GBV and Femicide. The briefing was presented by Ms Tshabalala, DDG: DWYPD.

Update on the National Council on GBV and Femicide Bill X-2021

After Cabinet’s approval of the NSP in March 2020, DWYPD explored various options to establish the National Council on GBV and Femicide (the Council). The Office of the State Law Advisor (OCSLA) furnished a legal opinion advising DWYPD to establish the Council through a statute. Upon receipt of the legal opinion, DWYPD requested the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to develop the Bill which seeks to establish the Council, as provided in the NSP. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development developed the first draft of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Bill and handed it over to DWYPD to finalise it. The National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Bill was submitted to OCSLA for pre-certification and quality assurance.

Upon receipt of the pre-certification, the National Council on GBV and Femicide Bill was submitted to the relevant clusters for deliberation. The DWYPD gazetted the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Bill for public comment. Public hearings and consultations on the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Bill were held with the provinces of Gauteng, Free State, Limpopo, and the Northern Cape. The consultations with the remaining provinces will be completed by the end of November 2021. The Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities intends to introduce the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Bill to Parliament in the current financial year.

The Secretariat, made up of a Director, two Deputy Directors, and an Administrator, has been appointed to ensure there is no delay in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide. The team worked with DWYPD in the development of the NSP on gender-based violence and femicide framework and plan, the facilitation of the provinces and local government to establish provincial and local multi-stakeholder gender-based violence and femicide structures, to develop locally based gender-based violence and femicide monitoring and evaluation plans, and with the assessment of the Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and District Development Plans for integration of the NSP on gender-based violence and femicide priorities into the plans.

Comprehensive National GBV and Femicide Prevention Strategy

The Draft Comprehensive National Prevention Strategy was developed, and consultations on the Zero Draft Prevention Strategy were held. A Theory of Change (ToC) Workshop was held on 28 September 2021. The DWYPD is in the process of consolidating the inputs from consultations and the ToC to produce the first draft which will be further consulted on. The stakeholders consulted include research institutes, faith-based organisations, the youth sector, the disability sector, the (LGBTIAQ+ sector, the National Victim Empowerment programme, and the relevant government departments.

The DWYPD is subjecting the National Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Prevention Strategy to the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment System (SEIAS) and a report was submitted to the Department of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation (DPME). A lot of work has been done, even though DWYPD is not the implementing department. It has worked on training for taxi drivers working closely with the Commission for Gender Equality, Sisonke Gender Justice, the NSG, and other stakeholders to put this training programme into place.

Challenges and mitigating actions

There have been challenges related to the National Council on GBV and Femicide Bill. Public input was incorporated into the National Council on GBV and Femicide Bill, and it will be submitted to National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) for deliberations. NEDLAC has its own internal processes and its schedule of Bills for discussion. The timeframes are determined by NEDLAC, and DWYPD does not have control over NEDLAC processes. As soon as the National Council on GBV and Femicide Bill is endorsed by NEDLAC, it will be submitted to Parliament.

DWYPD said the challenges relating to the Draft Comprehensive National Prevention Strategy include resource constraints due to budgetary cuts, time constraints, the availability of stakeholders for more consultations, and competing priorities. DWYPD mobilised funds for donor partners, and further consultations will be held before the festive period, so DWYPD will be able to produce the final draft for approval by the end of the current financial year.

The various departments and stakeholders scheduled to brief Members at the current meeting of the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus were expected to report on the progress made in relation to the prevention of gender-based violence and femicide, and speak on the issues raised by the DWYPD. Progress is on track overall with the departments reporting to DWYPD on a monthly basis. DWYPD then consolidates the reports and compiles a monthly report to the President using a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework, which informs the template for reporting purposes.

Briefing by the DSD on the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on GBV:

The second item on the agenda was for the DSD to brief the Committee on a report on the Implementation of Pillar 2: Prevention, Rebuilding, and Social Cohesion of the NSP on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. The briefing was presented by the Minister of Social Development.

High-level overview of the briefing and opening remarks:

Ms Lindiwe Zulu, Minister of Social Development, thanked the Multiparty Women’s Caucus for the opportunity given to DSD to present its briefing. The DSD works hard to resolve and mitigate the issues faced by women, youth, and persons with disabilities. She thanked the delegations from the various departments for the work done towards empowering women, and said the attendees of the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus would be interested to follow the series presented by the NSG and its international platforms. DSD is responsible for the implementation of Pillar 4: Response, Care, Support, and Healing. Empowerment was added, as it is an integral part of the fight against gender-based violence and femicide, so women can defend themselves and make their own choices. The DSD also contributes to the implementation of the different pillars of the NSP, together with the various mandates of the government. The month of November marks the work of the collective government regarding the elimination of violence against women, and the “16 Days of Activism against Women and Children”. Accountability must be enforced and everyone must be held accountable for the work which has to be done to ensure the safety of women and children, through the implementation of the necessary interventions.

Gender-based violence and femicide is a pandemic in South Africa, and DSD is targeting citizens, the public and private sectors, and multi-lateral partnerships to be more responsive to women’s lived realities and needs. The District Development Model is the DSD’s approach to guide resource prioritisation and implementation, especially given the rise in unwanted pregnancies throughout the country, given the high prevalence of rape and weakened family values. Underage pregnancies are becoming a major problem in South Africa, and there is a need to protect children. She also said men need to play a more active and positive role in the lives of their children. Another important focus is on the vocational success of young mothers. Families are the cornerstone and foundation of solid communities, and it is the work of DSD to provide this support through its integrated implementation of the NSP and the different mandates of the government. During the reporting period, DSD undertook to strengthen its existing response and victim care support services to contribute to Pillar 2, to build social cohesion. DSD’s briefing was aimed at sharing its progress on the implementation of the NSP on Gender Based Violence and Femicide for 2020 to 2030 with the Multiparty Women's Caucus.

Mandate of the DSD and implementation of the NSP

The mandate of DSD is to provide social protection services and lead government efforts to forge partnerships through which vulnerable individuals, groups, and communities become capable and self-reliant participants, and to provide psychosocial services to victims of crime and violence. DSD is responsible for the implementation of Pillar 4: Response, Care, Support, and Healing, and its main intervention is to strengthen its existing response, care and support services in ways which are victim centred, survivor focused, and trauma informed to facilitate recovery and healing. The DSD also makes critical contributions to all pillars, however there are specific contribution pillars, including Pillar 2: Prevention and Building Social Cohesion, and Pillar 3; Justice, Safety, and Protection in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide.

The DSD contributes to the achievement of Pillar no. 2 (Prevention and Building Social Cohesion) through integrated campaigns implemented at tertiary institutions of Higher Learning throughout the year focusing amongst other on youth in terms social behaviour. There programme led by the DSD such as Men and Boy Assemblies, Asikhulume on the Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Interfaith Sector Forum, Village to village targeting tribal and traditional authorities in dealing with gender stereotypes, harmful cultural practices, and others. The DSD has supports advocacy work undertaken by the civil society organisations through Everyday Hero and Gender-Based Violence and Femicide ambassadors are deployed across the country. DSD contributes to the achievement of Pillar 3: Justice, Safety, and Protection, and has presented the Victim Support Services Bill to Cabinet in 2019, which was recommended for public comment. In addition, the services of DSD is in line with its mandate to provide psychosocial services such as sheltering services, the Gender-Based Violence Command Centre, and the National Emergency Response Team.

Achievements of the DSD

Due to the demand for psychosocial services, DSD increased the capacity of its Gender-Based Violence Command Centre to 15 people, to be able to respond effectively. There are 136 shelters in South Africa, and these have a bed capacity of 1 687 in total, spread out between the provinces. The majority of shelters, being an amount of 117 shelters, are in the Western Cape province. The DSD is also focused on the renovation and establishment of shelters in the provinces of the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and in Gauteng. Out of the 52 districts in the country, 44 districts have shelters. The DSD has appointed 200 social workers in provinces, focusing on the fight against gender-based violence, and R 100 million has been secured in this regard. Over 300 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have benefitted. The DSD’s Sector Funding Policy has been developed and approved, and the DSD has recently trained and deployed 100 Gender-Based Violence and Femicide ambassadors to provide services in hotspot areas. In addition, the DSD’s Intersectoral Shelter Policy and Policy on the Provision of Psychosocial Services has been developed and approved for moving forward.

Challenges faced by the DSD

Although the DSD developed and approved the Sector Funding Policy, the funding of the interventions are still limited, especially funds which could be accessible to implementing partners such as emerging civil society organisations (CSOs). Some provinces do not prioritise gender-based violence, and as a result there is inconsistent provincial reporting. Shelters need to be established in eight districts and six Khuseleka One Stop Centres. Other challenges include the participation of key role-players in the various streams linked to the Pillars in the NSP, compliance with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) in emerging CSOs, limited services, the mainstreaming of LGBTIAQ+ issues in sheltering services, and enhancing the social workers’ workforce within the space of gender-based violence and femicide.

Proposed solutions and recommendations:

It was proposed National Treasury should treat gender-based violence and femicide as a pandemic which is allocated funding in accordance with fighting a pandemic, and provinces should prioritise and institutionalise gender-based violence services to improve reporting. Funding has been sourced from external stakeholders to establish four shelters in districts without shelters, and there is a need to improve the capacity of frontline workers to provide effective services, and to prevent secondary victimisation within communities. It was recommended the Multiparty Women’s Caucus take note of the progress registered by DSD in the implementation of the NSP, the implementation and progress report of DSD, as a reflection of its ongoing commitment to the safety of women of South Africa, and the implementation of NSP on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide.

Briefing by the Department of COGTA on the implementation of the NSP on GBV:

The third item on the agenda was for COGTA to brief the Committee on the report on the Implementation of the NSP on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. The briefing was presented by Director-General of COGTA.

Introduction to the briefing

COGTA formed good relations with the DWYPD and started to report to DWYPD monthly, regarding its progress. COGTA amended its vision to look at promoting safe and cohesive communities. COGTA’s Strategic Plan is aligned to Priority 6 of the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF). Over the MTSF period, spanning between 2019 and 2024, COGTA committed to fostering social cohesion and safe communities through ensuring inclusive and gender-mainstreamed budgets based on the needs and aspirations of communities at a local level. These aspirations cascade down for implementation, based on the principle of COGTA ensuring the plans get attention and are monitored to ensure it forms part of governmental priorities in national and provincial plans.

Progress report on the NSP and the fight against gender-based violence and femicide:
The District Development Model Implementation Framework (DDMIF) was updated to include the gender-based violence and femicide indicators based on the NSP in collaboration with the DWYPD. For provincial alignment, the provinces’ Annual Performance Plans (APPs) include and monitor the indicator for the number of municipalities monitored on the Implementation of Gender-based Violence and Femicide responsive programmes. A total of 751 gender-based violence and femicide related issues have been reported on the GovChat platform with 130 of those relating to domestic violence, 52 related to physical abuse, and 99 related to abandoned children. COGTA partnered with DWYPD and conducted workshops with municipalities across all nine provinces on the mainstreaming of these issues into municipal IDPs. The training of ward committees on gender-based violence and femicide will resume after the new ward committees have been established, after the 2021 local government elections. The Capacity-Building and Mentorship for Gender Focal Points were rolled out by the Office of the Premier in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for eThekwini, between 5 and 7 October, and Ugu, between 12 and 14 October. This training has been extended to Community Development Workers (CDW’s) and traditional leaders.

There are joint and extensive consultations in the three pilot districts to support implementation of the DDM, to understand its development priorities. The partnership has identified specific areas of support which UNFPA can provide to the districts. The partnership has developed district-specific implementation plans based on three interrelated pillars. These include the Unlocking Economic Value Chains pillar, which will provide opportunities for inclusive and sustainable growth, and the Social Transformation pillar, which is intended to result in increased stakeholder commitment. The CWP trained participants on gender-based violence, femicide, and child welfare programmes run across all provinces encourage youth to stay away from alcohol and drug use, which are regarded as some of the main causes of gender-based violence and femicide.

Internal initiatives on gender-based violence

The focus of the internal Gender-based Violence and Femicide programme is on Implementation of the Eight Principles, and the Action Plan for Promoting Women Empowerment and Gender Equality. It draws its mandate from the Constitution and from the Public Service Gender Equality Strategic Framework in the Public Service. There are 240 women, amounting to 55.17% of the staff complement in the establishment, but this is not saturated at entry level number four.

The Department of COGTA had the following upcoming activities planned with the objective of raising awareness: 16 Days of Activism Against Women and Children, 24 November 2021, World AIDS Day, 1 December 2021, and the International Day for Persons With Disabilities, 3 December 2021 as part of its internal initiatives to combat gender-based violence and femicide.

The role of traditional leaders in fighting gender-based violence and femicide

The Constitution recognises the role of traditional leadership in various aspects of socio-economic development initiatives. It recognises the pivotal role it plays in promoting freedom, human dignity, and the achievement of equality, and non-sexism. Traditional leaders are the custodians of culture, customs, and tradition. These leaders also play an integral role in educating traditional communities about social ills, thus creating awareness on gender-based violence within their own communities. Traditional leaders are instrumental in the promotion of human rights for vulnerable communities. The institution is further mandated to keep peace, and promote unity within and among communities. Despite advances in women’s rights around the world, violence against women, girls, and children remains one of the most pervasive human rights abuses and its occurrence in the home or by an intimate partner is its most prevalent form. Recently there has been an increase in domestic violence. Domestic violence is a human rights violation experienced across the world, occurring across all social strata and cultural groups.

Traditional leaders collaborate with various stakeholders towards fighting the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide. This includes among others, DSD, the Commission on Gender Equality, DWYPD, the South African Police Services (SAPS), and the South African National Aids Council (SANAC) to mention but a few. In this regard, the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders (NHTKL) launched the Men’s Parliament together with SANAC Men’s Sector. The launch was to encourage men to fight gender-based violence and femicide. Provincial chapters of the Men’s Parliament are also being launched. NHTKL, through its partnership with the DSD and the Eastern Cape House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders has engaged with the elderly, especially those with Alzheimer’s, regarding gender-based violence and femicide. The reason for targeting Alzheimer’s patients was because these aged persons get abused and are unable to indicate who violated them. In the Free State, the Queens Forum conducted a session with young people to discuss this and to make people aware of the dangers of being abused and violated.

The Department distributed dignity packs to the needy young girls. The NHTKL held an online seminar talking about the challenges faced by women in traditional leadership, especially those serving in houses, as part of ending gender-based violence and femicide. The Department discussed the role of houses in ending gender-based violence and femicide.

The National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders (NHTKL) in partnership with the Al-Imdaad Foundation delivered dignity packs to female traditional leaders in Mpumalanga as part of curbing the spread of gender-based violence and femicide. The dignity packs were aimed at preventing girls from asking males for money to buy these products, but to be able to help themselves. Traditional leaders also undertake awareness campaigns in their communities to ensure their communities are aware of the scourge. The launching of Men’s Parliament in Kuruman at the Traditional Council of Kgosi Motshwarakgole is a good example of this. In ensuring traditional communities receive the necessary support, traditional leaders make traditional administration buildings available to affected individuals as centres for support services. Traditional leaders also advise government on issues and policies affecting the lives of people in their communities, including gender-based violence and femicide. For example, traditional leaders participate in formal inter-governmental structures where these traditional leaders are able to advise government. The Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019 also provides for any legislation with a bearing on customary law and practices, to be referred to the NHTKL for input. This enables traditional leaders to have a say in legislation.

Conclusion

COGTA is working to intensify the fight for tougher gender-based violence laws, public awareness, and access to legal protection for all women, especially the poor. There is also a need for the relevant departments to capitalise on the District Development Model (DDM) as a vehicle to tackling this persistent challenge.

Briefing by the NSG on the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on GBV

Introduction to the briefing

The purpose of the briefing was to respond to the two issues raised by the Multiparty Women’s Caucus, including strengthening the delivery capacity of South Africa to roll out effective prevention programmes and challenges which hamper progress made regarding the above, and the steps taken or required to mitigate such challenges.

The mandate of the NSG is to develop course content and provide training to the departments which are requesting it from the NSG. Its output is the strengthened delivery capacity in South Africa to roll out evidence-based prevention programmes. The key activities of the NSG include developing and collating transformative materials, curriculum, tools, and approaches which can be adapted for prevention interventions in different institutional and social contexts, and to meet diverse needs.

Leading change by championing gender equality

The NSG, in partnership with the DWYPD, launched a five-day virtual gender course in August 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an alarming crease in gender-based violence and created an urgent need for senior and middle managers to undergo training, to acquire the technical skills for mainstreaming gender into its work. The five-day online sessions covered these critical areas: Gender Mainstreaming in the Public Service, Gender-Based Violence, and Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting. The training is offered virtually using the Zoom platform, and the course is accredited with the Public Service Sector Education and Training Authority (PSETA). A Certificate of Competence can be obtained by participants who successfully complete and submit portfolios of evidence for external assessment. Participants will also receive a Certificate of Attendance at the end of the course. The NSG further offers a sexual harassment and an anti-discrimination course, which can be taken as stand-alone courses.

The five-day course focuses on key issues, including political commitments and oversight, leading gender transformation, gender-responsive indicator-drive performance, budgeting for transformation, working towards breaking the silence, stigma, and shame towards building gender equality. The specific outcomes include, participants demonstrating knowledge and understanding of mainstreaming gender for gender equality, to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of tools for mainstreaming of gender for gender equality into programmes and projects, to implement, monitor, and evaluate the mainstreaming of gender into programmes and projects, to implement the tools for gender responsive planning, budgeting, monitoring, evaluation and auditing associated with the Gender Responsive Planning, Budgeting, Monitoring, Evaluation and Auditing (GRPBMEA) Framework, and to improve the capacity to address gender-based violence and related offences, and build positive gender relations, taking into account COVID-19 conditions.

Some key features of the five-day programme includes the course using problems which officials currently face and case scenarios from real-life contexts, to guide learning. Videos are integrated throughout the modules, as well as learning activities which both engage the learner, and support participants’ varying learning styles. A human-rights based approach to mainstreaming gender is adopted. The voices represented in the case studies reflect diversity. All theoretical information translates into practical exercises. The realities and conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic are taken into consideration, including the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide. The entire course is paperless, as all the materials are available on NSG’s online platform. The submission of the portfolio of evidence is done online by the participants.

The NSG’s course on gender-based violence:

The core theme of the NSG’s course on gender-based violence is to identify and address the root causes of, and eradicate all forms of gender-based violence and femicide on different levels in our society, and public service workplace. The purpose of the course is for participants to have an improved capacity to recognise different ways in which gender-based violence occurs, and to be able to identify and address patriarchal values and norms, and structural drivers of gender-based violence. The competencies expected from participants include being able to consider the rights of survivors and perpetrators from a legal perspective, being able to identify and address patriarchal values and norms, and structural drivers of gender-based violence, being able to take active steps to eliminate acts, behaviours, and speech which reflects discrimination, sexism, misogyny, and victim blaming in relation to gender-based violence, being able to identify the spectrum of gender-based violence in different spaces and assess the consequences of gender-based violence on different levels, and being able to appraise initiatives to measure, monitor, and evaluate gender-based violence prevention strategies.

The NSG’s course on anti-discrimination in the public service:

The purpose of the NSG’s course on anti-discrimination is to enable officials to address racism, racial and gender discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance. It will also assist the state to give effect to its international human rights obligations. The target is Senior Management Service (SMS) at national, provincial, and local government levels, government entities, including institutions supporting democracy and state-owned enterprises. The course outcomes includes the participants being able to critically reflect on the participants own beliefs, attitudes, and behaviour, to identify and apply relevant strategies to challenge discrimination in all contexts, to examine legislation which addresses discriminatory processes and plans how these principles can be applied, to assess own departmental policies and practices in the light of global anti-discrimination standards, and to initiate and support anti-discrimination behaviour in the public sector.

Progress update from the NSG regarding gender-based violence and femicide

To date, 13 training sessions were rolled out to 288 participants who attended. Participants include both senior and middle managers from national and provincial departments. Three additional sessions are envisaged during this financial year. The course has been very well received by participants, the monitoring and evaluation team, and the Commission for Gender Equality observers who monitored two full sessions. The UNFPA funded a session for officials with a hearing impairment. Participants are trained on how to use Zoom in an Orientation session a week before the course. Participants are also given a Zoom guideline to help the participants navigate the platform. The entire course is paperless as all the materials are available on NSG’s online platform. The submission of the portfolio of evidence is done online. Plans are underway to host dedicated sessions on behalf of SALGA, for councillors.

A number of 218 participants partook in the NSG’s courses during 2020, from various departments, of which 132 were female and 84 were male. In 2021, a total of 66 participants partook in the courses, of which 61 were female and only five participants were male.

Challenges hampering progress and remedial action necessary

The NSG noted the following challenges were experienced to hamper progress: The poor uptake of training by departments, power outages affecting connectivity, a resistance in the Department of Rural Development for men to attend, the limited capacity of officials and facilitators to host and navigate Zoom sessions, the high prevalence of gender-based violence, despite having legislation, policies, and prevention programmes in place, and very few officials reporting sexual harassment for fear of victimisation and retaliation. The NSG proposed remedial actions to be taken in this regard.

Briefing by SALGA on the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on GBV:

The Portfolio Head of SALGA presented the briefing to the Committee.

Introduction to the briefing:

SALGA established the Women’s Commission for a more focused attention on gender equality and gender focal work, to support municipalities in mainstreaming gender and coordinating efforts to protect the rights of women for equal opportunities, and protection against any form of discrimination and prejudice. The mandate of SALGA Women’s Commission (SWC) is to coordinate, promote and advocate for gender appropriate strategies in municipalities, as well as to guide the functioning of the gender machinery in local government. The SWC has a presence in all nine provinces, led by provincial commissioners, who are known as chairpersons, and who work in collaboration with the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus across all municipalities.

SALGA said the Multiparty Women’s Caucus is key in leading the gender machinery work in municipalities, focusing on some of the following: lobbying and advocacy for gender responsive planning and budgeting across municipal departments, monitoring the implementation of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 199, and deployment in Council political leadership positions. Added to this, the Multiparty Women’s Caucus are champions of the campaign against gender-based violence and femicide in municipalities and communities, working with the women’s forums in communities. The gender machinery is supported administratively by the Special Programmes Units, which work under the guidance of the members of the Mayoral Committee, and advise the municipality on policy matters. The Special Programmes Unit, in the office of the Executive Mayor and Mayor, fosters social inclusion by ensuring vulnerable groups participate in the affairs of the municipality and its voice is heard. The women’s forums are part of these, and are established in all municipalities. This is a structure which represents women from a variety of women-led community organisations with diverse interests. These are a key stakeholder representing the voice of women in municipalities and are tasked to cause the municipality to account for gender mainstreaming in planning and budgeting. The women’s forums are a stakeholder of the Mayors’ Integrated Development Plan’s Representative Forum (IDP Rep Forum).The women’s forums, working with the Multiparty Women’s Caucus, lead interventions to prevent gender-based violence and femicide, advocate for support to victims through ensuring the victim support centres are adequate and accessible, ensure justice for victims is served, and comfort those affected by the scourge.

Restoration of human dignity and the building of caring and safe communities

SALGA has partnered with DYPWD to lead discussions with municipalities on its role in implementing the NSP during the first quarter, with the Joe Slovo Foundation, and the Deputy Minister. The late Prof Mkhize honoured the engagement. The purpose was for municipalities to factor in the NSP on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide pillars into municipal plans.

The role of providing a safe environment for citizens is central to the municipalities mandate, for example, ensuring sufficient street lighting, ensuring public parks are safe, cutting bushes for visibility, provision of safe parks, and basic public facilities like community halls and multi-purpose centres. All these interventions are necessary to prevent gender-based violence and femicide.

Work has been done in partnering with various stakeholders, civil society organisations, and sector departments such as the Moral Regeneration Movement, the South African Council of Churches, sector departments, and traditional leaders to intervene in the cases of gender-based violence and femicide. This is done by supporting victims in courts, supporting families and communities through counselling services, prayers, and awareness campaigns against gender-based violence and femicide amongst others, strengthening coordination of sector departments and social partners at intergovernmental level, and pooling in resources to support gender-based violence and femicide interventions.

The Multiparty Women’s Caucus and women’s forums also support victims in the workplaces, in municipalities where incidents of gender-based violence and femicide occur. In the various provinces where heinous incidents of gender-based violence and femicide took place, the Multiparty Women’s Caucus, with the women’s forums were among the first to visit the families and communities to bring comfort and support. SALGA has continuous programmes with partners such as South African Women in Dialogue (SAWID), the Commission for Gender Equality, and Gender Links to build capacity in the Multiparty Women’s Caucus and the women’s forums. The provincial chapters of the SWC monitor the implementation of programmes in municipalities through quarterly reports which are submitted to the SWC working groups in provinces, and escalated to the National Working Group.

Challenges and mitigating steps

SALGA said the first challenge it experienced was municipalities regarding the establishment of the Multiparty Women’s Caucus as an option. As a result, the functionality of the Multiparty Women’s Caucus remains a challenge in terms of resourcing and implementation of programmes. There are insufficient resources, especially a budget to execute the programme of action, programmes and projects, which results in non-achievement of planned interventions. There is limited reporting. Further, the submitted reports are not disaggregating data on how projects and programmes respond to mainstreaming gender and women into service delivery. The Integrated Development Plans and Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plans generally do not reflect gender-responsive planning and budgeting. The leadership and senior officials do not report on effective implementation of gender-related interventions at the municipal level. Currently, gender-related indicators are only identified in the performance agreements of junior officials.

Regarding Pillar 2 of the NSP, to be fully implemented, there is a need to investigate interventions put forward by Pillar 1. This can be done in partnerships as outlined by SALGA. The NSP on GBV and femicide’s priorities must be integrated into District Development Plans, the IDPs, the Local Economic Development (LED) Plans, and other municipality plans. SALGA will support a process of ensuring accountability for the implementation of GBV initiatives. Accountability must start at leadership and senior management level. The NSP on GBV and femicide requires its priorities to be included into the performance agreements of senior management and leadership, to ensure accountability. SALGA will support municipalities to establish up to date GBV and femicide related policies and action plans in its institutions, which are going to ensure gender-based violence and femicide in communities and the workplace is prevented, and cases are adequately dealt with. The NSP on GBV and femicide emphasises the role of local multi-stakeholder committees because it enables coordination and will enhance accountability of stakeholders in its fight against gender-based violence and femicide.

SALGA will support municipalities to establish, convene, and chair the Local Multi-Stakeholder Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Coordination Teams which have the purpose of coordinating a gender-based violence and femicide response. SALGA will support municipalities to lead the process of developing local, and district gender-based violence implementation plans, which are going to specify interventions by the various stakeholders to be implemented to fight gender-based violence and femicide. It is only when there are specific plans in place when stakeholders can hold each other accountable, and are able to support each other where there are challenges in implementation. SALGA will partner with DWYPD in SALGA’s Integrated Councillor Induction Programme, as the new term of local government is starting to achieve the mitigation above.

Discussion

The Chairperson thanked the delegations for the briefing made to the Multiparty Women’s Caucus. She invited Members in attendance to make comments and ask questions.

Ms A Siwisa (EFF) said she has been listening to the presentations and one of the briefings mentioned a move away from openness towards accountability. She was surprised people who need to be held accountable were not in attendance at the meeting. She was hoping SAPS would also make a presentation regarding its interventions on gender-based violence and femicide in the public and private sphere. She said DSD made an insensitive statement where it said unwanted teenage pregnancies came about because of weak family values. This is insensitive because it implies teenage mothers do not have family values. Most cases social workers complain about relates to harassment and emotional abuse these girls go through in workplaces.

She referred to the Northern Cape Substance Abuse Centre in Kimberley, where social workers are unhappy and asked how the emotional abuse and harassment will affect the patients these social workers are supposed to assist. There is a serious shortage of social workers at schools, which is a grave concern as these children and teachers go without the necessary social support, and cannot be monitored by social workers.

She noted disappointment at COGTA not addressing the issue of children suffering abuse at initiation schools. She asked what the Department was prepared to do to ensure the abuse at initiation schools is prevented. Nothing is being said about these sensitive issues. She referred to a case of young girl going to an initiation school, who ended up dying at the hands of the initiator. She asked what the Department is doing in this regard.

She referred to the involvement of the taxi industry and said this is also a serious concern. She asked if it is compulsory for all the taxi owners, drivers, and marshals to undergo the training referred to. It is important for all of the role-players in the industry to be trained, and not only certain exclusive people, since the people who actually interact with passengers are the ones who perpetuate gender-based violence. The women of South Africa are not safe in taxis, and she said there must be clarity on who in the industry will undergo the training. She wanted to know if the training is compulsory.

Regarding accountability, she said SAPS should have attended the meeting to provide statistics and the way forward for combating gender-based violence.

On SALGA, she said she attended a conference in 2016, where documents were put forward with some relevant recommendations to be implemented. She asked what happened to those documents to ensure women feel safe and are promoted to leadership positions without abusive behaviour.

Ms J Mananiso (ANC) welcomed the presentations and thanked the delegations in attendance for the information presented to the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus. She applauded the DSD for having social workers on board for the transformational agenda relating to gender-based violence and femicide issues. It is a gain for the country and all those who have been victimised by perpetrators.

Regarding the plans for capacity building, she said a selective approach to this will not achieve the goals necessary to combat gender-based violence. She asked for clarity on the measures put into place to include all the sectors, and asked for clarity on why the approach is not inclusive of all sectors, besides only the taxi associations and the taxi industry.

She wanted to know what consequence management was being implemented in regard to officials from departments which do not show an interest in attending training, or implementing programmes related to gender-based violence and femicide. It is apparent there are people in the governmental department who do not play their roles. Gender-based violence and femicide is not only a women’s rights issue.

Regarding the NSG, she said she has benefitted from its courses when she was in the local government sphere, but she has not yet received her qualification certificates, and asked if the Department has a record of people who attended the NSG’s courses.

She asked the relevant departments for timeframes regarding the progress projected, for Members to use during constituency periods.

She asked if there was a mitigation strategy in place to ensure senior management also attended the training and courses on gender-based violence and femicide.

Regarding the work of COGTA, she referred to the disaggregated beneficiaries, and said people with disabilities only accounted for two percent. She asked if COGTA usse the national policies which requires a representation of at least seven percent, and said two percent is not sufficient, as it shows disability issues are not taken seriously enough.

Regarding SALGA, she said the entity should not refer to gender-based violence as an issue faced by women who are poor. Gender-based violence is an issue faced by marginalised and vulnerable people, and inclusivity is required to ensure the rights and realities of disabled persons and members of the LGBTIAQ+ community are included. Inclusive language must be used. She was satisfied that the women being sworn in as councillors will be trained, and asked if all the councillors, regardless of gender, could be included in the NSG’s course on gender issues. It is important for the issue of gender-based violence to not only be seen as a women’s issue, but a larger societal issue.

Ms W Newhoudt-Druchen (ANC) welcomed the presentations and thanked the delegations in attendance for the information presented to the Multiparty Women’s Caucus. She said the number of men attending the NSG’s courses on gender issues are quite low and asked for clarity on the measures put into place to ensure more men participate, as gender-based violence and femicide is not only a women’s issue alone. The majority of abuse is perpetrated at the hands of men.

She asked why men do not attend the training. There is a need to increase the number of men in this regard.

She asked for clarity on how SALGA would ensure male councillors are also involved in training. She was concerned about the insensitive and discriminatory language and terms used in the presentations and encouraged a more empowering perspective be taken.

The word ‘impairment’ is extremely sensitive to the deaf community. She said there is a need to be careful in the use of the terminology, especially with regard to the disabled community.

She expressed concern about the increase in teenage and underage pregnancy, especially young children who get pregnant after being raped. She asked if it is possible to separate the statistics of those who are sexually active, from children who are raped by children, and then children who are raped by adults.

She noted the need for the DSD to consider putting more social workers in schools, because teachers are overwhelmed.

She also asked if there is any gender-based violence and femicide training given to the judiciary, because when the courts make rulings there must be a clear understanding that the violence is quite serious.

Ms W Ngwenya (ANC, Gauteng) appreciated the work done. She said gender-based violence and femicide has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The workshops done in this regard is appreciated.

She asked how the entities will ensure the majority of people get training on gender-based violence and femicide, especially in rural areas where women have minimal resources.

She asked if there was any way that the costs of the training can be minimised to make it more accessible to people who cannot afford it; and wanted to know which measures are put into place to ensure participation by men, or to support or mitigate the challenges of women experiencing gender-based violence in the workplaces; and how the fear of victimisation will be mitigated. She asked what can be done to align the work of the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus with men’s forums to combat patriarchy in our society.

Ms S Van Schalkwyk (ANC) appreciated the presentations made, as well as the efforts made by the different stakeholders. She said even though there is still a lot of work which needs to be done, it is important to remember everyone needs to play their role. She highlighted the issue of the high dropout rate of learners in the basic education sector and the link with their socio-economic status, and experience of being subjected to gender-based violence, along with the reported high rates of teenage and underage pregnancies. There is a need for the different stakeholders to collaborate on those issues to see how the problem can be minimised and eradicated.

She asked if there is collaboration between the different stakeholders and the Department of Health, especially with regards to the impact of gender-based violence on the victims and survivors and the mental health of those persons. She agreed there is a need to receive a briefing from SAPS, as well as the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, to minimise and address the issues and legal effects of gender-based violence on victims and survivors.

Responses from the delegations

The Deputy Director-General: DWYPD replied to the question about the involvement of the taxi industry. She said there are programmatic interventions which have been planned, and said DWYPD has been asked by women, to address the taxi issue on several occasions, and this should be dealt with as a matter of priority.

The taxi industry itself and tax associations have reached out to DWYPD to seek assistance and asked for support to be able to tackle the issue of gender-based violence. DWYPD has been responding to this call, both from women and from the taxi industry. She said the taxi industry itself was not defensive in this instance, and has acknowledged there is a problem, since women are victims on the taxi premises itself.

DWYPD is targeting everyone within the taxi industry, including taxi owners, operators, and drivers.

The difficulty with this industry is, when this kind of training is provided, it is not easy to get hold of people in one place at the same time. DWYPD will continue to explore better ways, because some in this industry demand getting paid for the time they are with you, for the two or three hours when they are not a working and generating an income. This issue will continuously be negotiated, and the DWYPD is working in partnership with development partners on how the taxi industry itself can be best used as a method of awareness and accountability.

Regarding the issues and concerns around teenage pregnancy, she said DWYPD has taken the initiative to convene all the government departments and ensure a programme of action is put into place. DWYPD will be working closely with the Department of Health to work out mechanisms for actual coordination in holding governmental departments accountable, for the implementation or lack thereof regarding the programme of action.

Teenage and underage pregnancies is a national problem. DWYPD has written letters to the Premiers of all the nine provinces and asked for the relevant data and statistics, to get a sense of the magnitude of the problem in all these provinces.

DWYPD plans to assign social workers, together with the Family and Child Protection Unit to visit and interview these children and establish who fathered these children. The sooner this information and cooperation is made available, the faster DWYPD can go deeper and deal with this issue.

DSD is working on a Situational Analysis Initiative, which is also going to add value to the work DWYPD is doing. Issues of unwanted teenage and underage pregnancies are on DWYPD’s radar, and it is supporting departments.

The Director-General of COGTA replied to the question of beneficiaries, and confirmed the percentage for disabled persons will be adjusted from two percent to seven percent in COGTA’s 2022/23 APP. The Department will also follow through with the implementing agents to prioritise these targets. The Department will send the schedule for the training to ward committees, including the content of the programmes.

The Director of Good Governance at the NSG said the industry does not have a budget for training. The NSF operates on a cost recovery basis, and the courses are demand driven, and therefore dependent on the amount of people asking for the training. For example, with the taxi industry, DWYPD approaches NSG for training, and after payment has been made, the training is rolled out. The various governmental departments select which officials undergo training, and if there are officials who do not attend, then NSG approaches the departments to show the amount spent on the training will amount to fruitless and wasteful expenditure if the officials do not attend. Then it becomes an internal issue, for the departments to hold the officials accountable if officials do not attend. It is not possible for the NSG to hold officials accountable if officials do not attend.

There are some courses the NSG offers for free, such as the Ethics Online Course, and all the free courses can be found on the website. If a department has funding donors, it can select those it wishes to benefit with the NSG’s training courses.

Regarding training of teachers, the Director said it is not included in the mandate of the NSF to roll out the training of teachers, as it is the mandate of the Department of Basic Education. There has been some engagements with the Department of Basic Education, and the NSG now offers a course on ethics for school educators. However, the offering of training and delivery to educators remains the responsibility of the Department of Basic Education.

Regarding training for the judiciary, she said the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has its own form of training, offered by the Justice College.

She noted and apologised for the use of insensitive terminology with regard to hearing impairment and committed to avoiding this situation in the future. She said the documents will be corrected.

She also said she was not aware of any backlogs in awarding people qualifications and certificates, and asked Ms Mananiso to contact the NSG with her information to be passed on to the Assessment Certification Unit at the NSG. The entity will then investigate why Ms Mananiso’s certificate was not issued

Regarding the mitigation strategy, she said the mitigation strategy for non-attendance will be a priority for NSG, however, she said it is the responsibility of the departments, and NSG only supplies departments with information saying which officials did not attend the training, and then the onus shifts to the departments, who need to hold the officials accountable. Departments also have the responsibility to ensure men get nominated within their departments by their training coordinators, to make sure men attend the training and courses.

The Portfolio Head of SALGA rejoined the meeting and apologised for being absent for parts of the meeting, as she had network challenges. The Department of COGTA will focus on encouraging women and men to attend the training programme, as it is critical to do so.

Regarding the questions on people with disabilities and the LGBTIAQ+ community, she said the SWU focuses on the political consulting work to ensure all persons are included, and this is the reason for SALGA’s partnership with the DWYPD. SALGA has taken note of the terminology used and the corrections indicated by Members. There is a need to strengthen the work being done in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide.

Ms Siza Magangoe, Chief Director: Social Services, DSD, said DSD is contributing to address the challenges of teenage pregnancy, and DSD is working with non-government organisations (NGO’s) in this regard. The DSD has signed a partnership with the Teddy Bear Clinic and other NGO’s to try and address the challenges in schools.

Regarding the questions on capacity building, she said DSD has appointed service providers to assist by intervening each time, to ensure social workers are dealing with traumatic cases which are debriefed, to assist with managing the trauma experienced. The DSD uses accredited training to ensure there is capacity to deal with advanced trauma counselling, to enable it to be responsive to issues of trauma. There is also organised training to capacitate DSD on issues of the LGBTIAQ+ community, to understand the language and how to respond. The DSD is committed to support frontline workers and intervene in matters of teenage pregnancies.

The Deputy Director-General: Institutional Support and Coordination, COGTA, replied to the question raised around the role of traditional leaders at the initiation schools. She said traditional leaders have an overall role in regards to initiation in their respective areas. The Customary Initiation Act 2 of 2021 provides for the establishment of the National Initiation Oversight Committee, which is appointed by the relevant Minister, and will be working closely with the Provincial Initiation Coordinating Committee, in ensuring the issues of initiation are being dealt with. The Customary Initiation Act will ensure close monitoring on initiation to limit abuse, and to prevent the abuse being reported at initiation schools.

Ms Siwisa said DSD misunderstood her question. She asked if DSD has a plan on how to deal with emotional abuse which some of these social workers are going through in rehabilitation centres, not by the patients, but by the officials and superiors of the officials in their centres.

The Chairperson said SAPS presented in the previous meeting of the Multiparty Women’s Caucus, and there are plans to engage with other departments and entities as well.

Regarding the issues and questions posed to the DSD, she said the social workers should write to the Multiparty Women’s Caucus, or other parliamentary committees, if the issue of abuse is not being raised with superiors, and then the appropriate actions can be taken.

Ms Magangoe (DSD) replied to Ms Siwisa’s question, and said, in terms of the work social workers are doing in treatment centres, it means the purpose of having a supervisor is to ensure the supervisor supports the social worker and intervenes in cases, and to provide emotional support. In situations where the social workers do not have supervisors, then the centre where the social worker works, must link the social worker with the local office of social workers, who will provide support periodically.

The Chairperson thanked Members for the input and thanked the delegations for the responses given to the Multiparty Women’s Caucus.

She said she appreciated the reports and updates given to the Multiparty Women’s Caucus, and reminded Members if there are any issues Members wanted to follow up on with the relevant departments, Members can do so by writing to the Secretariat of the Multiparty Women’s Caucus.

The meeting was adjourned.