18 June 2008

Team Dew Point tackle The Bull for Masimanyane

Masimanyane is benefiting from this year's 570km Bull of Africa Adventure Race thanks to the KwaZulu-Natal-based all-ladies Team Dew Point.

The tough race, which starts on 9 August and continues for five to seven days, will begin either at Inkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve or Balugha Inn in the East Coast Resorts area. The route is unknown until the night before the race, which begins on National Women's Day.

Team Dew Point captain Lauren Greeff says the team chose Masimanyane as their “cause” because they'd wanted to make the race about more than just the team members themselves and their own personal journeys.

“We wanted to make a contribution to the community we will be racing through – in particular the women and children of the area. We will be raising funds for Masimanyane, which focuses on awareness-raising programmes and crisis intervention dealing with gender-based violence against women and girls mainly in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape.

“We feel this is such an important cause to support and it will definitely be added motivation to achieve our goal. We are excited about raising funds for Masimanyane Women's Support Centre,” she added.

She said Team Dew Point was currently the only South African all-ladies team entered in “The Bull”, as the race is fondly called.

Team Dew Point comprises captain and team navigator Lauren Greeff, power paddler and route finder Kelly Botha, strong MTB and workhorse Daleen van Staden, and strong MTB and navigator Tamryn Taylor.

For updates on the team, go to www.teamdewpoint.blogspot.com

16 May 2008

International Oxfam delegation visits East London this weekend

Five Oxfam International directors will visit East London tomorrow (Friday 16 May) as part of an international fact-finding tour to gain insight into the work being done by women's rights organisations in South Africa.

The directors – from Canada , Quebec , Germany , Holland and America – have chosen Masimanyane Women's Support Centre as an example of an active South African women's rights organisation, and will spend the day exploring some of the centre's sites in and around East London.

The tour will culminate in a working dinner at The Haven Wellness Centre in Parkside, where representatives from each of Masimanyane's centres will present information on the work they do.

Oxfam is the third-largest donor agency in the world, comprising 13 organisations working together with over 3 000 partners in over 100 countries to eradicate injustice and poverty worldwide.

Masimanyane executive director Dr Lesley Ann Foster said there was a renewed concern around the world about the empowerment of women and the advancement of women's rights, and that this was located within the context of the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals which aim to halve the levels of poverty by 2015.

Dr Foster said the Oxfam directors were interested in the interventions which Masimanyane had developed, as well as the impact of these interventions.

Masimanyane used a rights-based approach in their efforts to end violence against women and girls, and their services had a strong grassroots link, she said, adding that the Oxfam directors were interested in Masimanyane's political advocacy work “as this offers the best opportunity to make significant changes in the lives of women and girls”.

“It is a seminal honour to host five directors of such a powerful funding agency as Oxfam International,” said Dr Foster. “Oxfam International works hard to improve the lives of people across the world in so many areas. That they have elected to visit Masimanyane makes us very proud.”

The group will leave again on Saturday morning.

23 April 2008

Victim support centre launched

A much-needed victim support centre was launched in East London today (WEDNESDAY).

The centre, based at the Fleet Street police station, is a joint project between Masimanyane Women's Support Centre and the South African Police Services. It offers women and girl children who have been traumatised by gender-based violence (GBV) a safe, comfortable refuge where they can receive paralegal, physical, mental and emotional support.

Inspector Randall Freeks, the SAPS representative who helped initiate the joint project with Masimanyane Women's Support Centre, addresses delegates at the Fleet Street Victim Support Centre launch in East London on Wednesday, 23 April. The support centre offers paralegal, physical, mental and emotional support to traumatised victims of gender-based violence.

Masimanyane director Lesley Ann Foster said initiatives such as the new Fleet Street Victim Support Centre were an essential advance in the global arena of human rights, development and democracy.

“This Victim Support Centre becomes much larger within the global context,” she said, pointing to a growing international focus on GBV through agreements such as the multi-governmental Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the global campaign to end violence against women recently launched by the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon.

The MDGs, she said, focused on the eradication of poverty “and the attainment of universal human rights for all citizens of the world”.

“We can no longer see our work as a tiny spot in a local or national programme, but an important advance in the global arena of human rights, development and democracy,” she said.

Inspector Randall Freeks of the Fleet Street Police Station, referred to by Foster as “the foot soldier” instrumental “in getting this initiative off the ground”, said joint efforts between the SAPS and civil were of great importance.

“The police are only a small fraction of the population making up society. At the end of the day, in order to combat crime, partnerships such as this one between the community and the police are vital.”

He said the SAPS welcomed the partnership with Masimanyane, as the organisation was “in touch” with Buffalo City 's communities, making any collaboration with them an effective tool in combating crime and in preventing woman and child abuse.

“The police cannot get the job done on their own,” he stressed. “Hence it's paramount that institutions like Masimanyane come on board to assist the police in addressing these matters.”

Director Stanley Bennett from SAPS spoke about the importance of collaboration between government institutions and civil society to address crime prevention. As head of that division of the prevention of social crimes at Fleet Street police station, he spoke of the commitment of all rolepayers to work together towards reducing all crime in society.

Foster praised the SAPS take in Buffalo City for their “excellent response” in recent cases of domestic violence, especially those against women and children.

“We put this down to the visionary step taken by SAPS in the Eastern Cape to secure funding from the European Union aimed specifically at improving the policing of crimes against women and children. In our view, there are clear improvements and as a feminist human rights organisation, Masimanyane applauds this advance in ensuring access to justice and securing the human rights of women and girls.”

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21 February 2008

Lack of gender-work funds an international crisis

Policy makers worldwide urgently needed to address the dire lack of funding for gender work. This is the view of Masimanyane Women's Support Centre director and Amanitare president Dr Lesley Ann Foster, who is attending the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 52nd Session in New York recently.

Dr Foster and Masimanyane advocacy officer Monique Lee Davis, both based in East London, attended the conference on Gender Budgeting and Money Advocacy for Gender Rights which runs from 25 February to 7 March.

The CSW is the largest gathering of women around the world, at which delegates annually present and discuss concerns around women's issues.

“A huge challenge facing us, collectively, is that there is not enough money and resources made available for gender work,” said Dr Foster, who on this particular trip will be representing Amanitare, which has members in 48 African countries  working to improve the lives of African women and girls.

“Sexual and reproductive health and rights are central to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, therefore we need to look at how we can increase funding for research, awareness-raising and education around these issues.

“ South Africa has not fared well in decreasing the maternity mortality rates – one of the Millennium Development Goals – largely due to HIV/Aids. We need money to address these issues,” she said.

She said it was important for both Masimanyane and Amanitare to be able to listen to what the debates were globally, and to be able to locate their work within that. She added that it was important to be able to link their local work to the broader political issues.

“This is a policy-making conference – all UN work is at policy level – so our going there can ultimately have far-reaching effects on the lives of South African women.”

Davis, representing Masimanyane, said their trip comprised two main goals: firstly to gain knowledge as to what other women are advocating for, what their issues and challenges are, and how they address gender-based violence; and secondly to network with other organisations and governments.

“It is vital to form links with other organisations and policy makers,” she said, adding that networking with other groups often gave muscle to advocacy work.

“When you're advocating for change, it makes a huge difference if you have other groups behind you. It helps if you can make a lot of noise. The stronger the links between NGOs, the greater the outcome.”

UPDATED
6 February 2008

Dr Lesley Ann Foster speaks at African conference in Nigeria

Masimanyane Women's Support Centre director Dr Lesley Ann Foster addressed  delegates at the Third Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights in Abuja, Nigeria, today.

As first African president of Amanitare, a network of African-based organisations working to improve the lives of African women and girls, and a conference partner, Foster spoke  about the role of social movements in securing sexual and reproductive health and rights for women in Africa.

In addition, Foster has been appointed as a resource officer and co-facilitator for the Youth Sexuality Institute's session on Making Advocacy and Partnerships Work for Promoting the Youth Agenda (Building Partnerships) on Wednesday 6 February.

The Youth Sexuality Institute aims to support emerging sexual health and rights leaders in Africa by providing participants the opportunity to develop a better understanding of the challenges facing the sexual health and rights of African youth, build skills needed to engage with stakeholders in advancing the youth agenda, and contribute to setting out a plan for improving youth sexual health and rights in Africa.

The biennial conference – partnered primarily by African Federation for Sexual Health and Rights, host organisation Action Health Incorporated and Amanitare – gives sexual health and rights advocates, policy makers and practitioners the opportunity to discuss progress made in the promotion of sexual health and rights of African people.

Other partners include the National Agency for the Control of Aids, the National Human Rights Commission, International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region, John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation, Urgent Action Fund, David and Lucille Packard Foundation, Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa, IPAS, International Women's Health Coalition, Ford Foundation, Action Aid International Nigeria and Joint United Nations Agency on Aids.

The conference runs until Thursday 7 February.

30 January 2008

International 2010 conference on trafficking, prostitution to be held in East London

An international conference on prostitution and trafficking specific to the 2010 Soccer World Cup is to be held in East London during August, it was announced yesterday.

The conference, due to be attended by delegates from around the continent, as well as Europe, the United States and Canada, is being organised by the Masimanyane Women's Support Centre.

“There is always a sharp increase in prostitution around any international event, so we decided to host a conference on prostitution and trafficking in preparation for the 2010 World Cup,” said Masimanyane director Lesley Ann Foster.

The conference sprouts from a visit to Buffalo City by three gender activists from Norwegian anti-abuse centres who partner with Masimanyane Women's Support Centre.

The visitors, Ane Aadland and Tove Smaadahl from The Women's Shelter in Oslo , and Mette Moberg from Fokus in Gjovik, arrived last week with a three-pronged agenda – to discuss their ongoing funding of Masimanyane, forge partnerships, and share with and learn from local organisations.

The three organisations met at a Brighton conference in 1997, and formed a formal partnership when they realised they shared similar goals.

Most of their current focus is the rising worldwide problem of the trafficking and prostitution of young girls, women and also boys, especially from poorer African countries.

“The main streets of Oslo are crowded with trafficking – and these girls, boys and women are coming in from the south. From Africa ,” said Smaadahl.

There are currently between 500 000 and 700 000 women being trafficked into Europe from Africa every year, she said, most of whom are poor, all of whom “dream of a better life in Europe ”.

Fokus is an umbrella organisation which provides support to 74 member organisations which essentially work towards a common goal.

“Masimanyane is a very important project, not just for The Women's Shelter, but also for Fokus. We have learnt a lot from Masimanyane,” said Smaadahl.

Before flying back to Oslo on Tuesday, the group spent four days workshopping, meeting, sharing knowledge and experience, and visited Duncan Village and Scenery Park . “ Duncan Village was very depressing,” said Tove. “The poverty, the abuse.”

“And yet in Norway , a country so wealthy, with equal rights and better services, women are still being beaten, and still being raped. But all the women – here and there – have the same dream: to wake up in a safe place, and to be treated with respect,” Moberg added.

Whether from a rich or poor country, said Aadland, “A woman is a woman is a woman. We need to give her protection, care, make her aware of her rights, give her her life back. No matter where she's from.”

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