[Posted on 01 February 2008]

Media Briefs – SA: Sexual Offences Bill
Once again, Gender Links is offering a series of commentary articles and “I Stories,” personal narratives of people who have been affectied by gender violence, for use in the media.

192) South Africa: Little to be proud about this Sixteen Days
By Colleen Lowe Morna and Loveness Nyakujarah-Jambaya
Just in the nick of time for the Sixteen Days of Activism on Gender Violence that started on 25 November, parliament has passed the Sexual Offences Bill. Thirteen years in the making, the bill now awaits the Presidential signature before it becomes law. It says something, however, that the most senior government officials concerned with this legislation have not seen the final version of the bill and that an air of anti-climax hangs heavily on the various proceedings this year.

192) I Story - Date Rape Can happen to anyone
By Cara Ann, South Africa
I can hear what everyone is saying and I know what is going on around me, but I can’t move. I can’t open my eyes. I can’t scream for help. I woke up in tears. Again. For the past two years, I had this same nightmare at least once a week. At first, I didn’t know why. Not until I took a chance to think and realise the truth. It happened to me. I got date-raped. I didn’t want to admit the truth up until now.


Media Briefs – 16 Days of Activism

191) Regional: Putting the teeth back in the SADC Gender Protocol
by Pamela Mhlanga
The journey just got tougher for civil society activists who have been spearheading efforts to ensure that Southern African Development Community (SADC) governments are legally bound to achieve gender equality. The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, due to have been adopted by Heads of State at their meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, in August, has been deferred until the next annual summit to be held in South Africa in mid-2008. The latest draft of the Protocol has had huge chunks removed and concrete commitments softened.

192) I Story - Locked in a loveless marriage
By Daphne Butele,*South Africa
I am a 29 year old woman from Mmabatho but living in Soweto,Johannesburg . I live in a very abusive marriage but struggling to leave because I do not believe that I can make it without my husband. I have lived with my husband since 1998; we got married in 1999 after having a beautiful daughter together. My daughter is 8 years old now and I’ve got no regrets having her because she is my princess, my angel, she is the reason for me to live.


Media Briefs – Trafficking & Migration

195) Human trafficking concern for 2010
By Tonya Graham
In the run up to World Cup 2010, organisations around the world are seriously concerned about the problem of human trafficking into the Southern African region. At a mid-November conference held by the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women (GAATW) in Bangkok, Thailand, the need to adequately prepare for the upcoming world event taking place in South Africa was one of the topics on the agenda. In Southern Africa as well, gender and women’s rights activists are increasing recognising human trafficking as a human rights and gender violence issue. Though still not well understood, trafficking in women is an emerging problem, which will increase substantially as the South Africa, and the entire region, moves towards the 2010 mass influx of tourists.

A long and difficult path from home
By Rachel Lilongile,* South Africa
I did not wish to leave my country, Congo. I did not wish to leave everyone I knew - but life had become too dangerous to keep living where we were. One day when I was walking home from the Sports Club in my new home of Johannesburg, I met three big boys. One started chasing me and I fell and hit my head on the road. The person who was chasing me started to rape me, and I was screaming. A car passing by heard my voice, but it was too late. I felt that both the police and the social workers I spoke to treated me differently because I was a foreigner. When I told the social worker about the rape, she had no sympathy for me; she asked me why I did not stay in my own country. They did not care about me, because I was just a foreigner.

To obtain the full text, or enquire about other stories, please contact:
The Editor: Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service
Deborah Walter
E-mail: editor@genderlinks.org.za
We will alert you as new opinion and commentary pieces become available.

The Gender Links Service provides fresh views on everyday news …

Click here to find out more about the service and to view past articles