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	Violence against women a national crisis by SABC, Bhekisisa, Mail & Guardian, agencies South Africa   20 May 2017   South Africans march against abuse of women and children. (SABC/BBC News)   Hundreds of protesters have marched in the South African capital, Pretoria to call for greater action to address the rising levels of violence against women and children in the country.   Marchers voiced their opposition to gender-based violence and child abuse. Organisers say it''s time for men to stand in solidarity with abused of women and children.   Organisers of the #Not In My Name march apologised on behalf of South African men for not taking action to protect the vulnerable in society.   March convenor Siyabulela Jentile, addressed the crowd. "I would like to say a few words to our sisters. On behalf of all men on SA, whether they agree with me or not, we apologise. We failed you, all of us. From here onwards I am not even going to debate about it because we are a country that loves debate. We are wasting a lot of time on analysing without taking the solutions. It''s time for people to rise up. We have failed you and we apologise."   One of the organisers, Kholofelo Masha, said men had to take collective responsibility for the increase in beatings, sex attacks and killings.   South Africa has one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world. Police figures showed that 64,000 cases were reported last year.   "The time to take collective responsibility for our shameful action is now," said Mr Masha, who described himself as "a loving dad, brother and uncle."   He said South African men had been quiet on the issue for too long.   "You hear a lady screaming next door, you decide to sleep when you know there is a problem. No man should beat a woman or rape a woman while you''re watching".   On Thursday, President Jacob Zuma visited the parents of a three-year-old girl who was raped and killed. Courtney Pieters went missing from her home in Cape Town on 4 May and her body was found more than a week later in a shallow grave.   "We, as the citizens of this country, must say enough is enough," Mr Zuma. "This is one of the saddest incidents I''ve come across. It''s a crisis in the country, the manner in which women and children are being killed."   The governing African National Congress party has branded the wave of violence "senseless and barbaric", while the opposition Democratic Alliance has called for a nationwide debate on the issue. http://bit.ly/2q0vnAo http://bbc.in/2qMGAl8   18 May 2017   President Jacob Zuma calls on South Africans to fight against women and child abuse. (SABC)   He was speaking during a visit to the Elsies River home of the slain three-year-old Courtney Pieters. The toddler''s body was found in a shallow grave in Epping last weekend after being missing for more than a week.   Zuma visited the Pieters family at their home to convey his condolences. "I believe that there is something that has gone wrong in our country. The rate at which children are being murdered and raped by men. Something has gone wrong. I call upon South Africans to unite to fight against this. I think enough is enough."   The President says the manner in which women and children are being killed in the country has reached crisis levels. He says he will discuss the manner in which police handled the matter with the police ministry.   He said the family told him police treated the mother, Juanita, badly when she reported her three year old as missing.   Zuma described it as one of the saddest incidents he''d ever come across. “We must look at this, we should have strict regulations and laws and it should be discussed. The country is in crises in the manner in which women and children are being killed.”   A family spokesperson Roegchanda Pascoe says, "It’s time that government comes to the people’s level, we have to discuss these matters.” http://bit.ly/2qMDi1t   May 2017   Women are being killed. Stop! (Mail & Guardian: Editorial)   This week, we report on the gruesome murder of Nombuyiselo Nombewu in Klerksdorp; her alleged murderer was out on bail on rape charges. It is often the criminal justice system that fails dismally.   About 287,000 cases of civil hearings under the Domestic Violence Act were registered with the courts between April 1 and December 31 last year, said Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development John Jeffery.   “Of these cases, nearly 189,000 were new applications for protection orders,” he said. Jeffery was speaking at a ministerial dialogue about intimate femicide in South Africa.   The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines it as the killing of a woman by an intimate partner. Several studies, including one by the WHO, have confirmed that South Africa has the highest rate of femicide in the world.   The murder and abuse of women by men they know has become routine. The current discourse on femicide is deeply troubling. The reality is too raw and refuge too scarce.   It is often police who fail to assist abused women. Even when assault charges are laid, even when evidence is available, even when restraining orders are in place, the police, Mbalula’s charges, still fail to protect abused women. They could do better by believing women when they say they are in danger. http://bit.ly/2q0IUI2   Dec 2016   STUDY: Over 50% of surveyed Diepsloot men have beaten a woman in the past year, by Mia Malan (Bhekisisa)   Sexual assault and physical abuse rates more than double those reported in national studies have been recorded in Diepsloot in northern Johannesburg, according to results from the Sonke CHANGE trial released this week.   The figures are some of highest rates of violence against women ever recorded in South Africa.   The Sonke CHANGE trial, a partnership between the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and gender activist organisation Sonke Gender Justice was conducted this year among 2,600 men in the township. The men were between the ages of 18 and 40 years with an average income of R1 500 a month. Only half had been employed in the three months before the study was conducted.   “These levels of violence represent a state of emergency for victims and survivors of this violence,” the researchers said in a study summary.   “They experience serious long-term physical and psychological harm. They experience ongoing fear of repeat victimisation, with little reason to believe that perpetrators will be apprehended or held accountable or that potential perpetrators will be deterred from using violence against them.”   South African Police Service reports show that of the 500 sexual assault cases reported in Diepsloot since 2013, there has been just one conviction, according to the researchers.   Abigail Hatcher, one of the lead researchers from Wits, told Bhekisisa: “If you think that 56% of men used violence against women, and because most of them did so more than once, it is likely that at least half of women in Diepsloot are experiencing it annually.   “ We estimate that we need care services and shelters for about 60% of the female population in Diepsloot. But except for a small organisation, Green Door, there are zero shelters.”   Green Door consists of three donated Wendy houses; the organisation does not receive any funding. It has only one part-time, volunteer counsellor.   According to South Africa’s 2011 census, 138,000 people live in Diepsloot, about 12,000 people per square kilometre. But residents and organisations in the township say this number is a gross underestimation: most estimate the population to be closer to half a million. If that is true, and if half the population consists of women, about 150,000 (60%) could be in need of care and shelter services.   On Wednesday, Bhekisisa will be launching a cellphone app in Diepsloot to make it easier for victims of gender-based violence to know where to find help.   The app is being launched in partnership with Green Door, Sonke Gender Justice, social enterprise organisation Afrika Tikkun, Lawyers Against Abuse and the South African Depression and Anxiety Group.   Users dial *134*403# from their cellphone, which notifies a server to send a series of three menus asking the user where they are in Diepsloot and what sort of help they need. An SMS is then sent to the user with the phone numbers and addresses of the organisations in Diepsloot that help victims of gender-based violence, as well as the numbers of the police and ambulance services.   The Sonke CHANGE trial found that the most significant cause of men’s violence towards women in the township was “inequitable and harmful gender norms that grant men a sense of permission to use violence against women”.   For instance, most men believe they have the right to control the clothes a woman wears, the friends she sees or where she goes. Controlling a partner doubled the odds that men used violence in the past year.   Childhood trauma was closely associated with men becoming abusers: 85% of the surveyed men who had raped or beaten a woman had been physically or sexually abused themselves as children. Men who had experienced child abuse were five times more likely to use violence against a woman.   “Children exposed to this violence in the home and community are far more likely to themselves become involved in violence later in life — boys as perpetrators and girls as victims — and are at increased risk of experiencing a host of other social problems, including psychological distress, alcohol abuse, poor school performance and increased involvement in crime, including interpersonal violence,” the researchers said.   Men with signs of depression were three times as likely to be violent towards women; 49.8% of men were found to have probable depression and 50.3% probable post-traumatic stress disorder.   Yet, the Sonke CHANGE trial researchers pointed out that “there are no public mental health services available in Diepsloot to address the mental health consequences of such widespread exposure to generalised violence”.   According to Brown Lekekela, who runs Green Door, the two local clinics don’t stock rape kits and there is no nearby government hospital that offers rape counselling services.   The nearest Thuthuzela Care Centre — a one-stop, government-run service offering rape care — is at Tembisa Hospital about 30km away. “This means rape victims are forced to travel long distances to access post-rape care or to attend court cases,” the researchers said.   The only other available counselling services are those offered by the police and non-governmental organisations.   Alcohol plays a huge part in exacerbating violence against women. Problem drinking — binge or frequent drinking that interferes with daily life — increased men’s abuse of women by 50%. Three-quarters of the men in the study reported problem drinking. That rate is about six and a half times higher than the national alcohol abuse rate of 11.4%, as reported by the South African Stress and Health survey published in the South African Medical Journal in 2009.   The survey showed that men who had a matric qualification, were older than the average participant age of 27 and were employed, were less likely to be violent towards women. Having food security, which is when a household has access to the food needed for a healthy life for all its members, reduced the odds of violence by 40%.   Hatcher said: “When men feel active and productive, and when they’re able to have certainty in their lives about their daily needs, they’re likely to use violence less to prove their manhood.”   http://bit.ly/2gCujJL http://bit.ly/2r7mqW6 http://bit.ly/2rGFdVr   Dec. 2015   “South Africa’s still long walk to free women from the shackles of violence” – UN expert calls for change (OHCHR)   The United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Dubravka Simonovic, today urged the Government of South Africa to strengthen the fight against gender-based violence through awareness and education at all levels of society. “I have heard on many occasions that violence against women is normalized in South Africa,” she warned stressing the need for change.   “The violence inherited from the apartheid still resonate profoundly in today’s South African society dominated by deeply entrenched patriarchal attitudes towards the role of women in society which makes violence against women and children an almost accepted social phenomenon” Ms. Simonovic said after her first official visit to the country from 4 to 11 December.   “Despite an arsenal of progressive laws and policies to deal with gender-based violence put very ably in place, there has been little implementation, hence impact and gender-based violence continue to be pervasive and at the level of systematic women’s human rights violation,” she said.   The independent expert said that different forms of manifestation of violence against women and girls take place in the country, among which femicides or gender-related killing of women, domestic violence, rapes, gang-rapes which in their most extreme and forms have lethal consequences, and other forms of sexual violence.   In relation to the high number of femicides, she encouraged South Africa to establish a “femicide” or “gender-relating killings” watch through which the number of such killings would be released every year. Such data and information about each case, carefully analysed, is needed to identify any failure of protection in the response’s chain to gender-based violence and would bolster improving and developing further preventive measures.   She also called for the conduct of risk assessment and crisis management in the context of domestic violence and application of protection orders that should guarantee immediate protection.   “It was reported to me that, mostly in some rural areas, the practice of Ukuthwala continues,” she said warning that girls as young as eight can be forced into marriage through their abduction, kidnapping, assault and rape associated with such harmful practice. “It needs to be clearly stated that such practice violates the constitutional rights to dignity, freedom and security of the person.” Other harmful practices include virginity testing and accusations of witchcraft.   The human rights expert said that there is insufficient specialized training for all front-line actors involved in the responses to gender-based violence, namely the police, prosecution office, and courts. She called for better awareness of the police’s positive duties to protect women in domestic partnerships who are victims of abuses, to manage the reporting and investigation of sexual offenses and to refer those reporting sexual offenses to medical services.   Ms. Simonovic cautioned about hearings conducted in a non-victim friendly manner, the presence of perpetrators and the lack of security of the victim, all of which leads to secondary traumatization. Victims’ friendly rooms at police stations, while mandated by the Sexual Offenses Act, are lacking.   She also highlighted gender stereotyping by magistrates leading to leniency towards the perpetrator and need for gender sensitive education for judiciary. She expressed concern that there is no established risk assessment and crisis management and protection orders are not immediately available and when issued are often not adequately followed up by police, for lack of human or financial resources.   http://bit.ly/2q84beY http://www.refworld.org/docid/57d90a4b4.html http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2015/12/essential-services-package-for-women-and-girls-subject-to-violence
	Forced Child Marriage by Freedom United, agencies   Child marriage is a formal union where one or both parties are under 18 years old. In many places around the world, marriage under the age of 18 is part of a culturally accepted norm, and about 10% of the global population has been married before their 18th birthday.1 However, in certain cases child marriage can amount to slavery. At Freedom United, we use these indicators to help determine when child marriage constitutes slavery:   A child has not genuinely given their free and informed consent, for example being given in marriage against his or her will; A child being subjected to control, a sense of “ownership” through abuse and threats, and is exploited for their labour and/or non-consensual sexual activity once within a marriage; the inability of a child to leave a marriage he or she no longer wishes to remain in.   The younger a child is, the less control they have to give their free consent to marriage and the more vulnerable they may be to slavery.   Girls who are victims of forced child marriage can find themselves subjected to abuse, sexual exploitation and control, with little or no power over their own movements.   Often, the girl will be controlled through violence, threats and humiliation, and find herself unable to safely leave the marriage.   What does child marriage look like around the world?   “The marriage – it didn’t go well. Each time my husband wanted to make love to me, he would beat me. He wouldn’t allow me to leave the house. I felt so depressed that I tried to take my own life.” –Lamama, 15, Cameroon   Lamama was forced out of school to marry her husband, and sadly her story is just one of many. Statistics suggest that one third of girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18, whilst one in nine enter into marriage before the age of 15.   If this trend prevails, 150 million girls will be married before their 18th birthday over the next ten years.   Although boys are also married as children, girls are more disproportionately affected by child marriage. This is often because girls are not valued as highly as boys in the communities where child marriage take place – in these cases, marriage may be seen as a way of easing the economic burden on the girl’s family.   Child marriage thrives in many countries, yet it is most commonly found in South East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with Niger found to have the highest proportion of child marriage with 76% of girls married before they’re 18.   Child marriage tends to occur in rural areas more than urban areas. This is because rural areas are typically more impoverished and consequently, prospects for girls are more limited. Rural areas often have more traditional outlooks where girls who are unmarried have the pressure of society disapproval.   Figures also show that girls from poorer backgrounds were more likely to be child brides; females in the poorest quintile are 2.5 times more likely to be implicated in child marriage than those living in the wealthiest quintile.   There are many factors that contribute to child marriage around the world. Often, these contributing factors propagate an environment that encourages forced child marriage and increases the vulnerability of children to slavery.   Poverty   In the developing world, over half of girls from the poorest families are married as children. For some families, giving a daughter in marriage is a way to reduce expenses – particularly if a son’s education and expenses are prioritized. In some communities, the groom and his family will expect a dowry from the bride’s family – with the idea this money will ensure her care for the foreseeable future.   Often, the younger the girl is the lower her dowry – this is because she will be seen to be easier to control in her new home and more likely to be a virgin.   Social and Religious Traditions   In many areas, it is the norm to marry children young. Peer pressure can force parents into marrying their children and can place pressure on young girls to conform to marriage or else expect to be viewed as a “nasty, disrespectful girl”.   The fear of pregnancy outside marriage is a major driver, and early marriage is seen a way to safeguard against such immoral behavior.   Gaps in the law and the failure of law enforcement   A lack of strong, effective legislation protecting girls or creating a minimum age of marriage is a key factor. However, even when there are laws in place, law enforcement may not reach into rural areas or may not have the training to deal with cases of forced or underage marriage.   Many law enforcement individuals may not view it as their responsibility to interfere with family affairs, or corruption in the system allows perpetrators to pay money to delay or avoid court procedures.   What is the state of Forced Child Marriage in Niger?   Aysha was married at 13 to a wealthy Nigerian from the city of Kano. Forced to leave her home for the Nigerian city of Kano, Aysha found herself alone and vulnerable – imprisoned in her new husband’s home.   “He was always trying to make it clear that it was as if he had bought me, that it was not because I wanted him but because he had bought me.”   After 10 days of marriage, Aysha’s husband locked her in the bedroom. Fortunately for Aysha, her brother helped her to escape and she is now studying to be a nurse. Many other girls from Niger aren’t so lucky.   Niger has the highest rate of child marriage in the world. 76% of girls are married before they are 18 and 28% before they are 16.   Child marriage in Niger is rooted in poverty and social norms which expects girls to marry young to protect their honor and prevent pregnancy outside of marriage – a tradition that is upheld by religious leaders.   Young girls are also at risk of the practice of ‘Wahaya’. This is the name given to members of the slave caste who are bought and sold as unofficial wives in Niger. Often referred to as the ‘fifth wife’, these girls act as an addition to the four wives legally permitted to Niger men. Unfortunately, without the legal status of a marriage, these ‘Wahaya’ have none of the rights and protection to which legal wives have.   ‘Wahaya’ are essentially slaves used for domestic labour and sexual gratification.   The President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufouhas, has publicly declared his intent to address the escalating problems of child marriage by investing in programs that he says will reduce the prevalence of child marriages from 60% to 40%.   Despite the government committing to several regional efforts to tackle the issue, including the African Union Campaign to End Child Marriage, little has changed. while the legal age of marriage for boys is 18 – the legal age of marriage for girls remains at 16.   What is being done to tackle forced child marriage?   By tackling early child marriage in countries where girls are vulnerable to slavery, we can help put an end to forced child marriage and slavery. On a global level, there has been some progress made towards this goal. In 2015, a target on tackling child marriage was included in the UN Sustainable Development Goals:   “Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilations”.   This target urges member states to put in place policies and practices to abolish child marriage by 2030. However, there is a lot of work to be done to ensure that this target is achieved.   Here are some examples of what organizations are doing to help end the practice of early child marriage:   Working with communities to change attitudes towards girls and to ensure that they are more highly valued. Supporting girls to stay in school and continue their education. Providing safe spaces and support networks for girls at risk of child marriage.   Engaging with religious leaders to encourage them to take a greater role in condemning child marriage and changing community attitudes. Working with men and boys to change patriarchal attitudes whilst also supporting young people and youth groups to become agents of change.   Urging local authorities to adopt stronger laws and policies to reduce cases of forced and early marriage.   Using media channels to raise awareness and highlight the negative consequences of child marriage and other advocacy and lobbying techniques.   Freedom United is running a campaign to urge the Niger Government to raise the age of child marriage for girls to 18. By raising the age of marriage, we want to allow girls to finish their education and provide them the opportunity to make informed choices, so reducing their risk of falling into forced marriage.   http://www.freedomunited.org/landing/forced-child-marriage/ http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/ http://news.trust.org/spotlight/Child-Marriage/ Visit the related web page
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