Provincial focus
Eastern Cape MEC for Social Development Dr Pumza Dyantyi says the fight against gender-based violence must be backed by partnerships between government and civil society
Eastern Cape Social Development MEC Dr Pumza Dyantyi wants more to be done to keep the women and children of South Africa safe.
Violence against women and children is a major concern in South Africa. MEC Dyantyi said it is fueled by patriarchy, which casts women in submissive roles and promotes men to the status of household head by virtue of their gender.The spectrum of violence directed at women ranges from assault to rape and, in some cases, escalates to murder.
A report released by Africa Check earlier this year revealed that the femicide rate in South Africa is higher than the global average. A shocking 9.6 out of every 100 000 women were killed in 2015. By contrast, the global average was 2.4 per 100 000.
While the abuse of women and children is always in the headlines, the rape charges levelled against Pastor Timothy Omotoso has received much media attention and has once again highlighted just how prevalent the issue is in all sectors of South Africa.
Omotoso is facing over 60 charges relating to sexual exploitation, racketeering and human trafficking in the Port Elizabeth High Court.
MEC Dyantyi said churches were
once believed to be places of safety which attracted salt-of-theearth people, but of late, more and more are being exposed as places where women and children are made vulnerable to abuse.
“It's not that we or anybody else are against churches, but we call for the regulation of churches to make sure that they are doing what they say they are doing,” she added.
In October, MEC Dyantyi and other high-ranking women led a march in protest of gender-based violence (GBV) and called for churches to be regulated.
She noted one of the most disturbing aspects of GBV is that women often support the person being accused of rape, rather than the child or woman involved.
“This is exactly what patriarchy does to women. It pits them against one another in support of men.”
Changing societal values
“Patriarchy is that entrenched in our society,” she said, adding that more empowered women need to find ways to support other women made vulnerable through patriarchy. One platform is women's forums which allow women to support one another.
MEC Dyantyi said the laws in the country are strong enough to deal with rape and violence against women but changing societal values and dealing with misogyny are challenges that still need to be overcome.
“There are laws of government that are strict against rape and violence. I encourage women who are being abused to stand up for their rights and seek help from social workers and the justice system.They must not keep quiet. If they are married, it's a husband's obligation to take care of them. It does not mean they must let their husbands abuse them.”
She confirmed that more women are in fact standing up and exposing abuse.“That is encouraging,” said MEC Dyantyi.
Don't overlook the perpetrators
The MEC said government should also work with the Department of Justice and Correctional Services to rehabilitate perpetrators. She said more men's forums need to be established to help teach men what it takes to be a real man who nurtures rather than hurts.
“More men must stand up and say:‘Not in our name'.”
MEC Dyantyi said strong family units must be at the core of efforts to curb violence against women.
“This is not just a social development responsibility. Partnerships with other government departments are essential to building healthy families and creating environments that allow children to thrive.”
She added that the beast of violence against women needs to be tackled from all angles. “Society tends to focus solely on the women who are victims, but there are also perpetrators in the equation.They must also be counselled and rehabilitated. We must remember that there are boys who get abused and even boys who abuse and rape girls.
“Recently, I visited a juvenile centre and a girl who had been a victim of rape offered to take me around. She was 16 and said she had been raped by her uncle from the age of seven,” said MEC Dyantyi.
She added some of the boys at the juvenile centre revealed to her that they had raped girls and expressed regret for their actions.
Partnering in the fight against abuse
MEC Dyantyi said her department is working closely with non-profit organisations (NPOs) to deal with violence against women and children. Every year, the provincial social development department calls for proposals, giving NPOs an opportunity to demonstrate what they can do for victims.
“Those that are registered and meet our criteria get financial support,” she said, adding
that this year's application process closed in November.“There are some NPOs that we have been funding for many years.
The funding that we give them ensures that they can buy the supplies they need to support victims of violence. Likewise, the relationship we have with them is mutually beneficial because it extends our capacity in dealing with these social issues,” she noted.
The founder of the Masimanyane Women's Support Centre, Lesley Ann Foster, said her NPO empowers women who have been abused.The organisation regularly receives funding from the Department of Social Development and works with other government departments to support women.
“The Department of Social Development gives us financial support and they have supported us from the beginning. We are also supported by the departments of education, health and human settlements and have a brilliant relationship with the SAPS,” said Foster, who started Masimanyane in 1996.
Masimanyane has shelters for women and children in East London and provides counselling services for rape victims at the Thuthuzela Centre, which is based in Mdantsane's Cecilia Makiwane Hospital.
Social transformation
Foster said the most effective way to deal with the current wave of violence against women would be to dismantle misogyny.“We have to bring about social transformation in a political, social and cultural context. Women have a low status in society and unless we change that and deal with gender inequality, unfortunately we will continue to experience violence. There's no work being done to deal with how masculinity is toxic and that is the root problem. The picture will only change when women are treated as equals,” she said.
Foster's work now has a global reach though Masimanyane Women's Rights International (MWRI), which offers a platform for women from all over the world to share experiences and ideas that advance gender equality.
MEC Dyantyi affirmed that nonprofit organisations are doing a wonderful job in working alongside various government departments to support the survivors of abuse as well as any children who may have been affected by domestic abuse.
Despite this, she said more needs to be done to minimise the secondary victimisation of abuse survivors and to provide effective counselling and mentoring services so that they can break free from the shackles of their past and embrace their future as empowered survivors who know their own worth in society.