Violence Against Women
Source: SA News
There is a need to move away from the view that violence against women and children is a government or criminal justice system problem, says Minister in the Presidency Responsible for Women, Susan Shabangu.
She said unless this shift happened, society will always miss the mark in efforts to eradicate the scourge in communities.
Addressing a debate in Parliament on the high incidence of violence against women and children in the National Assembly on Thursday, the Minister reiterated that gender-based violence cuts across class and race.
"In order to eradicate this shame, we must work together, sparing no effort to root it out from society. We need to continue to systematically fight against patriarchy and any other form of abuse against women and children in the family, the workplace and society.
"If we act collectively we will dent the scourge," Minister Shabangu said.
More work needs to be done
The Minister acknowledged that while several gains have been made and many milestones achieved in the fight against gender-based violence, challenges still remain.
"More work needs to be done to ensure the transformation of power relations between women, men, institutions and laws; elements that are fundamental in building an inclusive, progressive and prosperous society, these requires me and you to play our part."
She stressed the need to put more effort into addressing gender inequality, poverty, unemployment, oppression, patriarchy and sexism, which are the main drivers of violence and abuse against women.
Measures to address the scourge
Since the dawn of democracy, government has introduced measures to address the scourge of violence against women and children.
Among these measures are the introduction of the National Crime Prevention Strategy in 1996 which inculcated a victim-centred approach in the criminal justice system.
The spin-off has been an excess of legislation, either new or amended that affirms victims' rights and ranges from firearm control to domestic violence legislation.
Protocols, norms and standards like the Uniform Protocol for Services for Victims of Crime, the Patients' Rights Charter and the National Prosecuting Authority Service Charter, have also been developed.
The other spin-off includes the implementation of the restorative justice approach.
Institutional mechanisms such as the specialised sexual offences courts, Thuthuzela Care Centres, Child and Sexual Offences Units, as well as domestic violence courts and correctional supervision boards have been established to create space and provide institutional arrangement for recourse and to promote women's human rights.