LO TE Violence against Women

Violence against Women LO TERM PROJECT A project investigating violence against women through personal accounts, social media, the role of the government and the community and the rights of women in society. Activity 1: Introduction and literature review Violence against women (VAW) are violent acts that are committed primarily against women. The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against women states that: ""Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women" and that "violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men."" Source: Violence against women - https://en.wikipedia.org This type of violence is gender-based, meaning that the acts of violence are committed against women expressly because they are women. A recent in my own community saw a women sexually assaulted while walking home (May 20, Northcliffe Melville Times). These sort of acts are incredibly common place in South Africa – one in three girls will be sexually assaulted their life in South Africa. Women are often attacked because they are less able to defend themselves and because perpetrators get a sort of twisted power boost when they attack women. I think it is an absolutely abhorrent act and that GABRIEL MATTHEWS 1 perpetrators of crime such as rape and severe sexual assault should be sentenced to the death penalty. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, declared in a 2006 report posted on the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) website that: “Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime with the abuser usually someone known to her." Source: Violence against women - https://en.wikipedia.org 1.2.1 The Domestic Violence Act of 1998 was enacted in order to make provision for the issuing of protection orders regarding domestic violence and matters connected therewith. The act provides victims with a legal recourse against their oppressors. 1.2.2 The South African Police Service is legally bound to help domestic violence victims in accordance with the Domestic Violence Act. This includes finding of special amenities for victims, housing, medical care and therapeutic counselling. Counselling is important because it gives you the opportunity to sort out a problem or issue that you’ve had trouble GABRIEL MATTHEWS 2 figuring out on your own, and many women are reluctant to seek help after an incidence of violence. The SAPS is also obligated to explain the victims’ rights to them and to provide assistance in the process of obtaining a restraining order. Officers are obligated to arrest the abuser. The responsibilities of the individual are designed to protect the rights of others. If a person respects their responsibilities in terms of the written law then any person who comes into contact with said person will immediately have their rights protected. Adherence to one’s responsibilities makes it impossible to infringe on another’s rights. Thus it is every citizen’s duty to firstly know their rights and to secondly to ensure that they know their responsibilities so that they ensure they do not violate others rights and not have their own rights violated. Victims need to be given effective help but also need effective awareness to understand that help is available. In order to do this we need to initiate campaigns and events. Campaigns are incredibly useful in this regard, events are also uniquely helpful and allow the message to be spread to the community in a proactive manner. Other options include support groups which are also options for victims in order to receive counselling in a safe space. 1.3.3. I believe that this law is an incredibly solid foundation with which we as a nation are able to protect the rights of women. There is of course much that can be done with regards to this as we need to ensure that individuals adhere to the aforementioned responsibilities in order to stop the violation of human rights, particularly violent attacks against women. GABRIEL MATTHEWS 3 Activity 2: Data gathering through interviews “Human rights can be understood as the protection of people from criminal acts that may cause harm either physically, emotionally or mentally. Human rights are important to every one because if every ones human’ rights are violated there is a means for those people to seek retribution through the law.” - Abigail Beckinsale “Many among us do not believe that victims of human rights abuses, particularly those perpetrated against women, are protected. This is because there are countless instances where people who suffer violation of their human rights are subjected once again to the violation as there is GABRIEL MATTHEWS 4 hardly any protection offered to them. The government is not doing an adequate job at protecting victims according to people in my local community.” - David Samuels “The government offers little to no support to people in the community that have had violations against their human rights, meanwhile the South African Police Service, a government entity, treats victims as valueless members of society, essentially nullifying the positive roll of councillors.” - Meghan Lourens “There is no confidence in any government organisation in my community. The people in my community say they would never approach a government organisation if they had been violated for fear of being ostracized by public workers and because they believe they will not be served adequately due to a lack of productivity and laziness that remains rife in these organisations.” - Cyndi Van Zyl, GCF From these four interviews it is abundantly clear to me that there is a lot of scepticism within the community. Many of the people interviewed are trying to make a difference in the community themselves and as such find it utterly disgusting that so little is done on the behalf of others. Many of the people interviewed are victims themselves and do not want their GABRIEL MATTHEWS 5 friends and family as well as strangers to go through the same thing that they had to endure. As I interviewed people I asked, questioned and educated them on the nature of human rights to ensure that they have the ability to protect themselves from further violations. Activity 3: Findings 3.1.1 Restorative justice is the way justice is served out in accordance with wrong deeds enacted in the past. The aim of restorative justice is to jointly identify problems by including the accused, victims and the accusers in order to find solutions and later obligations to each party through the acceptance of responsibilities and taking preventative measures in order to ensure that future instances of a similar nature are not carried out again. 3.1.2 The main principles of the restorative justice system are: Restorative Justice Processes must in no way whatsoever impinge on any laws in the South African constitution process. Restorative Justice must encourage that all victims should be welcomed into their communities and not be turned away. There should be no form of prejudice in the system. Nothing can be shared amongst a certain group of individuals and not the other; all people involved must have a clear and concise view of the process and the entire situation at all times. 3.2.1 State institutions that deal with human rights violations include: - National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) - The Constitutional Court - Judicial Service Commission 3.2.2 National Prosecuting Authority – According to npa.gov.za the following is the vision and mission statement of the organisation: “Our Vision: GABRIEL MATTHEWS 6 Justice in our society, so that people can live in freedom and security. Our Mission: Guided by the Constitution, we in the National Prosecuting Authority ensure justice for the victims of crime by prosecuting without fear, favour and prejudice and by working with our partners and the public to solve and prevent crime.” The National Prosecuting Authority aims to assist individuals whose human rights have been either directly or indirectly affected. They have in recent times taken on more and more cases involving the violation of women’s rights, however they also prosecute numerous high profile cases involving the violation of human rights. The Constitutional Court – According to the Preamble of the Constitution, we as South Africans, fight for justice. “ Preamble We, the people of South Africa, Recognise the injustices of our past; Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land; Respect those who have worked to build and develop our GABRIEL MATTHEWS 7 country; and Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity. “ The Constitutional court has the duty and is thus tasked with creating awareness of human rights among South African citizens. The court makes recommendations to the state in order to improve the implementation of the aforementioned rights. In addition, this branch of government must undertake studies and decide on the tabling of motions of or relating to human rights. Judicial Service Commission – According to justice.gov.za, the Preamble of the JSC states that “the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule of law, and the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights are the foundation of the democracy established by the Constitution.” This preamble cements the JSC as an important organisation whose role is to serve the citizens of South Africa. It was set up in order to ensure the integrity of judges and to ensure that they remain ethical at all times especially when deciding on a ruling in court. The JSC can be considered one of the final efforts in ensuring that human rights violations do not remain violations as punitive measures are introduced through the rule of law. The JSC monitors judges to ensure effective non-violation of people’s rights and are established to ensure that judges are not only responsible in their duties but also that they are steadfast in upholding the law irrespective of the case or their personal opinion. 3.3. Religious organisations are an important component in the fight against human rights violations. They play an immense role in supporting communities that have been affected and provide support, counselling and shelter to those in need. Religious organisations are often those that identify specific households where GABRIEL MATTHEWS 8  rights are being violated as they are an “on the ground” force whose identity is far more deeply interwoven in the interaction of the community than other government organisations. They also are incredibly key in informing communities (through prayer groups and religious events) of the necessity of human rights and how violation of said rights are wrong. They are involved with many integration programmes and are critical in supporting victims and welcoming them back into the community and also changing the opinions or prejudices of those in the community in order to ensure that they maintain or lead stable lives once again. They are one of the biggest supports for communities that are affected. Activity 4: The Media 4.1.1 Social media plays a very important role in the protection of human rights. They are often catalysts in the spread of cases where human rights are violated and make people aware that this is indeed a human right. Social media has of course informed people of their rights and responsibilities. One recent incident that highlights this is the argument between two customers at a Spur recorded on camera earlier this year. Social media provided the medium for the video to be spread and to show how both people in the argument were ultimately wrong for different reasons. GABRIEL MATTHEWS 9 4.1.2 Social media unfortunately also plays a negative role in the violation of human rights. Teens and adults alike are not immune to cyberbullying and other forms of online violence. There are many cases where individuals who perpetrate these online violent acts are left to continue without intervention from others – many critics pin this down to the self-absorbing effect of social media which in fact makes you less social and more narcissistic. The use of social media can also cause issue when freedom of speech clashes with something that may be construed as hurtful to others. For instance Helen Zille’s recent comments on colonisation have caused many complaints and have led to an investigation into her actions. 4.2 The media should report violations against human rights in an ethical and responsible manner while being sensible in the reporting of incidents that are by their very nature sensitive. Entire portions of the story should be reported and not fragments or selected portions in order to convey a message based on agendas. All reported info should be as unbiased as possible and aim to give the public a full account of what had occurred, and as such the public should have the whole truth about a situation before they make their judgements. The identity of the person who was violated should be protected if the victim so wishes, and the media cannot publish a photo of a victim without consent either. The media should not twist facts and should only publish concrete information, for instance, even if a person has a lot of evidence against them they should not be termed guilty until they have a court verdict against that person. Often a person cannot change the perception portrayed by the media onto them after the fact, and in many cases the damage is already done. An innocent person’s life could be ruined if there were false accusations around his/her name. Activity 5: Conclusion 5.1. I strongly believe that government should be more proactive when it comes to human rights and I recommend that more should be done for the victims of violations against said human rights. The approach taken by government should be measured and with sincerity as the issue is a very delicate one. However, it is also necessary to be far more engaging and even aggressive when it comes to the marketing and awareness of human rights – people in the community need to be made aware what their rights are, how they might be violated and how to GABRIEL MATTHEWS 10 report these violations locally. Punitive measures should in turn also be far harsher, the punishment needs to be enough of a deterrent in order to lower the number of violations. Perpetrators should be fearful of the consequences of their actions, as they realise they will be punished heavily. 5.2 A collective stance should be taken by communities with regards to human rights violations. Regular meetings should be taken by the community in order to ensure that everyone is aware of violations and is able to discuss and bring them up so that they can be dealt with effectively. Prevention should also be taken seriously by the community by encouraging families to be educated at various community workshops. Communities should also have strong support groups in order to help the victims and ensure that the victims are not isolated. Likewise perpetrators should also be given a chance to express their remorse and be given the opportunity to gain the communities’ trust by engaging and helping the community in various ways. Activity 6: References References Anon. (2017, May 23). NPA Value System. Retrieved from NPASA: https://www.npa.gov.za/node/41 Anon. (2017, May 12). State Institutions Supporting Democracy. Retrieved from Parliamentary Monitoring Group : https://pmg.org.za/page/state- institutions-supporting-democracy Anon. (2017, May 20). The Judicial Service Commission. Retrieved from The South African Judiciary: http://www.judiciary.org.za/about-the-jsc.html Anon. (2017, May 12). Constitution of South Africa. Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_South_Africa CD, T. D. (2017, May 13). Restorative Justice. Retrieved from Justice Gov South Africa: http://www.justice.gov.za/rj/rj.html GABRIEL MATTHEWS 11