ACHIEVEMENTS
Policy achievements
Masimanyane is in the process of working towards the development of policies relating to trafficking and prostitution. The organisation has developed a draft strategy for the provincial government to combat these growing social problems.
In 1998 Masimanyane developed an NGO Shadow Report which was presented to the United Nations. Numerous policy decisions were made based on the recommendations the CEDAW committee made to our government. These include the development of equality legislation and the later development of equality courts.
Virginity testing was the focus of Masimanyane's advocacy programme in 2005. Direct contact with the Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture saw a law put in place making virginity testing illegal.
Masimanyane has participated in advocacy initiatives around the Sexual Offences Bill, the Children's Bill, the National Strategic Plan on HIV/Aids and the National Strategic Plan to address violence against women.
Programmatic achievements
The Premier of the Eastern Cape established a gender task team and a gender fund at the suggestion of Masimanyane. This has led to more service providers in the province offering greater support to a larger number of women and girls in the Eastern Cape .
As a direct consequence of pressure brought to bear by Masimanyane and other women's groups, the South African Police Services in the Eastern Cape secured funding from the European Union to improve police responses to crimes against women and girls in the province. Numerous victim-empowerment centres have also been established providing greater support to women and girls who report rape and domestic violence.
Masimanyane was one of two organisations which introduced the 16 Days of Activism Campaign to South Africa in 1996/7. It is now the largest campaign in the country and has been wholly adopted by government. The entire community including the business sector participates in this campaign which has raised violence against women as a national priority.
During 2006 and early 2007, Masimanyane formed a partnership with the national television investigative programme Special Assignment. Serious flaws within the criminal justice system were brought to the attention of the national public. These include the maltreatment of domestic violence victims seeking maintenance through the law courts and the poor police responses to the killing of women in rural communities.
Consequently, the Minister of Justice decided to take the programme of maintenance payments away from the courts and to have a financial service provider administer this important function. A tender was put out for a suitable provider.
The Minister of Safety and Security visited Peddie to address the issue of poor police response to gender-based violence in that area and a programme of training and capacity building for the police and community has been initiated.
Masimanyane contributed to a third television programme which highlighted the links between alcohol usage and gender-based violence. The result of this programme is that strategies are being developed at community level to reduce alcohol consumption and its impact on levels of gender-based violence.
A third programme highlighting the effects of alcohol on gender-based violence was done early in 2007. Programmes are being put in place to bring greater awareness to communities throughout the country about this problem. Masimanyane is preparing a programme on the trafficking of women and girls. |
