WHAT HAPPENED TO ‘MAKE MY SAFETY YOUR BUSINESS’?

HIGHLIGHTING the escalation of gender-based violence in South Africa in 2018 and 2019 were two significant protest marches.

The first, on August 3, 2018, dubbed #Totalshutdown, was a women-only march, targeting the Presidency. President Ramaphosa had to fly back from out of town to receive and commit to the demands presented.

The last one, #Sandtonshutdown, on September 12 last year, highlighted business complicity in gender-based violence. While both protests can be viewed as successful in terms of turnout and visibility, I have heard nothing about follow-up action post-#Sandtonshutdown.

Among the demands made was one requiring sensitivity to women in women-centred industries. Included in this was the protection of women from gender-based violence, sexual harassment and exploitation; the provision of transport for women working late at night; and workplace support for victims of gender-based violence.

The demands put to companies were conveyed in a memorandum and also by placards. One placard that stood out, read “Make my safety your business”. The message here is clear: when planning, make gender-based violence one of your strategic issues – dedicate resources towards it, and ensure that it is one of the areas to be reported upon at all management and board meetings.

This means that within a company’s hierarchy of concerns, GBV should not remain only at the level of social responsibility; it must be a strategic issue for the company.

The placard also highlights that GBV has escalated to become an issue that threatens the security of women, and it should be treated as such.

Targeting the private sector to take action in an effort to fight GBV was a very good strategy, so let’s not give up in the face of the slow response.

My suggestion is that the activists and the private sector get together to start the process. A good starting point would be to pick one practical demand – something beneficial to both the private sector and women employees.

Once the particular demand has been agreed upon, there needs to be action taken to get the “buy-in” of all stakeholders. This should start off by gathering evidence about the effects of, for example, intimate partner violence or domestic violence on each company’s operations and profits.

In this regard it should be borne in mind that violence in the domestic domain has both indirect and direct consequences in the workplace, as it affects labour productivity and generates unplanned business costs.

Before such a meeting it is advisable that gender-rights activists meet and decide about certain critical issues: an important one being devising a framework of engagement.

This needs to focus on the workforce and be marketable to business. In this respect there is plenty of common ground, for example, putting in stringent measures to curb sexual harassment at the workplace will reduce under-performance, absenteeism and staff turnover, and it will decrease the number of disciplinary hearings.

“GBV has both direct and indirect consequences in the workplace