“Sithule, siyafa. Siyathetha, siyafa. Kungcono sife sisilwa”- A South African Woman
On the 31 August 2019 the Black Lawyers Association Student Chapter (BLASC) and South African Black Women in Law Alumni (SABWiL Alumni) hosted a Gender Summit to close off Women’s Month at the Constitutional Hill Women’s prison.
Attendees at the Gender Summit sat and exchanged various stories of hushed and reported harassment of women and men in society and in the legal profession. In the day’s deliberations was the root causes of GBV as well as sexual harassment, and the possible ways we can combat it using the law.
Delegates of SABWiL NPC, Black Lawyers Association and the Law Society of South Africa advised members of BLASC and SABWiL Alumni to exercise respect for each other, to exercise caution and vigilance but most importantly to speak about GBV. Through the deliberations a huge highlight has to be one male attendee who asked if women are not inviting men to harass them by their sense of dress code and acceptance of gifts from men.
After the confirmation of the death of the late Uyinene Mrwetyana and the painful facts of her death, it is clear that women don’t have to do anything that will invite men to invade their privacy, by merely attending any place, even a government institution like a Post Office women are targets to GBV.
Another week of protests – Another week of wearing black! We live in an intolerable state. We cannot forgive and we cannot allow this country to move on, without men taking accountability for their actions, for their lack of respect for women’s constitutional rights to life, to dignity and freedom. The country’s government can offer little more than their hollow condemnation of the highly covered cases in the media. They take no responsibility for their inability to implement laws and keep South African women and children safe. We have spoken about it. The instance of GBV rises still!
On the 12 September 2019, Statistics South Africa released a report stating a 3,9 % increase on the number of reported rape cases. The South African Police Service have logged 443 387 reported rape cases over the past decade. A total of 2 771 women were murdered during the last 12 months. Recent cases of Violence Against Women and Children lay bare the crises in the Republic of South Africa.
There is a need for an improved discourse on the subject. In the words of UN Executive Director Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka “we are in a national crisis and we need our President and leaders to take extraordinary measures to scale interventions that will fast track the implementation of policies. We need resources to be allocated for these interventions to be properly executed”. WE NEED OUR LEADERS TO LEAD!!
The leadership of SABWiL Alumni echo the sentiments of the BLASC NEC:
- We call for better implementation of laws against Gender Based Violence.
- We call for improved security measures in institutions of higher learning.
- We call for improved response to matters of GBV.
- We call for awareness campaigns against GBV.
- We say “No” to victim blaming.
- We call for harsher penalties against perpetrators of GBV and Sexual Harassment.
- We also call for the National Registry of sex offenders to be made public!
SABWIL ALUMINI stands in solidarity with all South African women and children. Our response will be to fight, in our homes, in our workspaces, religious spaces, out in public. We will fight with women and for women. We plead with South African men to turn the conversation to themselves and accept that it is them, their fathers, their brothers, their uncles, their friends that commit crimes against women and children. The longer we allow and create spaces for men to use hashtags such us #NotAllMen, the more mourning we will do. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Nthabiseng Motsie
Media and Public Relations Officer
Sabwilalumnus.mediaofficer@gmail.com
Mogowe Mangena
Academic officer
serepujane@gmail.com