NATIONAL GENDER MACHINERY MEETING HELD ON 12-13 MAY 2005 AT LERIBA LODGE. PRETORIA
PRIORITY AREAS IDENTIFIED BY NGM
- Need for a common plan of action for the NGM for the next ten years, which would assist in defining a benchmark against which the advancement of women and attainment of gender equality in the country can be assessed in the future. Hence develop a Plan of Action (2005-2015) on the 12 critical areas outlined in the Beijing Platform for Action, comprising plans of ALL components of NGM, launch in August 2005.
- The importance of a strong and well coordinated NGM as an effective forum for ensuring women's empowerment and the advancement of gender equality. Hence need to strengthen current mechanisms in place.
Process: Coordination and Communication
- The mandates of the JMC, CGE and OSW are complementary therefore to realize the full impact of the NGM we need to coordinate, collaborate and consult amongst all components and civil society. This will assist JMC with their oversight/ -monitoring mandate as going to all provinces.
- Need to consult on and further the debate on the Special UN Rapporteur on Laws that Discriminate against Women in preparation for SA's participation in the 50th Session of the UN CSW in 2006. Hence we need to decide on processes to be established for preparing for our participation in this process as well as in other international, regional and sub-regional conferences. We need to convene a special committee to look into this issue of the special rapporteur.
- Violence against women raised as an area of serious concern for NGM, especially with regard to the current case of women shot in head by male partner. Hence we need to draft a Press Statement and Resolution on Eradicating Violence against Women.
- Critical areas of concern:
- Violence against women and children, including pornography, prostitution and family killings.
- Reproductive rights of women and raising awareness on these issues, especially on the right to abortion
- Trafficking of women and children, both girls as well as boys
- Women's lack of awareness of reproductive rights impacting on women's poverty.
- Interaction with religious sector on women's reproductive rights
- Poverty eradication
- Women's health, particularly reproductive rights, maternal mortality, HIV and AIDS.
- Strengthening institutional mechanisms for women's empowerment and gender equality, with particular focus on:
- ensuring provincial JMCs participation in provincial gender forums, as well as in NGM as their inputs are essential
- strengthening provincial gender forums and to ensure they are similarly aligned as the national gender machinery
- ensuring gender forums are established at local government level and providing support to these structures as they have a greater reach of women. Look at SALGA's role in institutional mechanisms and what they have already established/put in place. Review DPLG policy document in this regard. Ensure synergy between processes currently in place.
- role of NGOs and civil society structures in the NGM and need to establish accreditation processes for their participation in the gender forums at various levels, nationally, provincially and at local levels. Need to develop terms of reference for engagement with civil society.
- Review of where we wanted to be as an NGM (when process of establishing institutional mechanisms for women's empowerment and gender equality began) and what is the current status. Needs to be done through a wide consultative process with civil society and NGM components at a national and provincial level (similar to initial processes).
- Ensure compliance with South Africa's National Policy Framework for Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality. Particular focus on GFP status and location.
- Address challenges arising out of OSW Coordinator reporting to Special Programmes Director/Chief Director. Also ensure compliance with National Policy Framework for Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality in this regard. Levels of OSW coordinators and GFP's and uniformity in all provinces
- Each component to review its policy documents to ensure uniformity of structures for advancing women e.g. Provincial JMCs are different from Women's Caucus groups in the provinces.
- Review of reports such as JMC report of 2003, Needs Analysis report for SADC member states, etc.
- Need to look at developing a proposal for Cabinet representation to NGM meetings.
- Increasing women's representation in political and decision making positions at all levels of government
- Performance Appraisal of SMS to include gender as one of the criteria for appraisal. Need to bring PSC into NGM.
- Women's participation in peace keeping, peace building and conflict resolution processes.
- Representation of women in media with particular emphasis on addressing the negative reporting on women
- Increasing male involvement in women's empowerment and gender equality programmes and need to further the debate and dialogue between men and women on understanding of what masculinity is.
- Monitoring processes-Bilateral with NGM stakeholders to identify clearly the different roles in terms of monitoring.
- Issues of the girl child and young women to be included in plan of action.
- As the South African National Policy Framework for Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality provides clear direction on uniformity of processes with regard to advancing women and attaining gender equality in the country, policy guidelines need to be developed/elaborated upon and translated at the sectoral level. Hence we need to strategize on how the translation of the national policy into sectoral level policy guidelines could be fast tracked as well as strategize on how to address challenges that arise in the implementation of these guidelines.
- We need to look at the issue of coordination and communication processes currently in place. Hence do we need a stronger branding/marketing strategy?