Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation Petition; Government implementation of National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence & Femicide; with Minister and Deputy Minister

Meeting report

Mr L Mphithi (DA) said he was disappointed that the Minister and anyone with clear executive authority of the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) was absent. This was an indictment and a slap in the face of the Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation (UMF) and was unacceptable.

Mr Linton Mchunu, Acting Director-General (DG), Department of Social Development (DSD), said that the Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities was out of the country, and the Minister of Social Development, who was acting on her behalf, was currently in a Cabinet committee meeting. He tendered her apologies and said she would be joining the meeting later when the Cabinet meeting concluded. The Deputy Minister of Social Development was currently hospitalised and he tendered her apologies.

Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation Petition

Ms N Sharif (DA) said she had been approached by the Post Office to Parliament (P2P) task team to handle their petition through her sponsorship to Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities. This Department was responsible for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the national strategic plan on gender-based violence and femicide (NSP-GBVF), within which was contained the National Council on GBVF, as outlined in the 2019 summit declaration which the President had signed. The Department had that as a target, but it was yet to be met.

The slow establishment of the Council had resulted in limitations, such as the establishment of a trust, which had been rejected by the Committee, and now the GBVF Bill. Civil society agreed that the establishment of the Council should be done as soon as possible. She proposed that the DWYPD fast track the establishment of the National Council; that the Department report progress on this to the Committee; that the Department report on the role of the GBVF secretariat in establishing the Council; and that the Committee visit the UMF in the Eastern Cape and the P2P task team in Cape Town on their research collected via postcards.

Ms Emily O’Ryan, Project leader, P2P, said that P2P was an initiative to cope and speak about GBVF by writing on a postcard, as inspired by the women of the 1956 pass law petition.

Ms Masimbulele Buso, Managing Director, UFM, said President Ramaphosa had made several promises this year, one of which was the establishment of a National Council on GBVF to fight this scourge. The Council would emphasise the importance of civil society in matters that affected them, so it was important for civil society to be part of these processes and hold government accountable and provide expertise.

Ms Sarah-Emma Sydenham, P2P Petition drafter, outlined the petition’s request -- that the Committee and the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services urgently intervene to ensure that the National Council on GBVF was established as per the National Strategic Plan (NSP)-GBVF. Further, it requested that the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, the Portfolio Committee on Police, the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration and the Portfolio Committee on Social Development, ensure the involvement of their respective executive bodies as per the NSP-GBVF, in this process.

Ms O’Ryan referred to the fact that the Council had not been established as per the NSP, and that the Department had instead established a Board of Trustees. Concerns had been raised that the Board of Trustees did not speak to the core criteria of the Council, namely that 51% of the Council had to be from civil society and that there would be a legislative framework to hold them accountable. The petition requested that the Committee use all measures to ensure the establishment of the Council as envisaged in the NSP, and the necessary funds are made available and that progress on the Council’s establishment be available to the public. It also requested that the police are capacitated in DNA and forensic services and that a feasibility study be conducted to convert the Clareinch Post Office into a wellness centre or Thuthuzela Care Centre.

She then showed some of the postcards that had been collected from children in the postcard campaign.

Ms Sharif tabled the petition with recommendations.

The Chairperson said she hoped that the Foundation would also be working in the rural areas.

National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide

Ms Shoki Tshabalala, Deputy Director-General (DDG): Social Transformation, DWYPD, said the declaration was signed in 2019, but there had been a specific request to form a structure, and that structure should then develop the strategy. Cabinet had approved the NSP in March 2020 and it was launched in April. Cabinet guidance was that the formation of the Council should be according to the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) model. Upon further consultation, it was discovered that SANAC’s mechanism was in the form of a Trust, so the Department had embarked on the process of setting up a Board of Trustees. Civil society had refused the Board of Trustees route and demanded that a Council be established.

Upon consultation, the Department had abandoned the Board of Trustees route and set out to develop the legislative framework for a bill, because the Department needed to have a bill to comply with statutory functions. The Minister of the DWYPD intended to introduce the bill this year, which would provide for the establishment of a National Council. The bill was processed through various government clusters and this process took time. The bill was published in a government gazette, and the Department had issued a media statement and conducted public participation meetings in all nine provinces, and it had been submitted to the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) for deliberation. The Acting Minister, Ms Lindiwe Zulu, was presenting the bill to a Cabinet Committee that day to introduce the bill to Parliament.

Discussion

The Chairperson asked if the UMF had been present at the Department’s public hearings.

Ms Tshabalala said the Department had invited organisations and stakeholders through the Office on the Status of Women in each province.

Ms Sharif said the UMF had not been invited. She had shared a link to a Google document with the UMF, as provided by the Department. She said a lot of people felt excluded from the public participation process.

Ms Tshabalala said all the inputs made and submitted had been taken into consideration.

Ms Nondumiso Ngqulunga, Director: Legal Services, DWYPD, confirmed what Ms Tshabalala had said. The invitations were sent via the Office of the Premiers, and the submissions were collected from the Office of the Premiers. She went through the list of public consultations.

The Chairperson asked if Treasury had been aware of the establishment of a Trust.

Ms Tshabalala replied that they were aware, and had said that a GBVF Secretariat had to be formed in the Department and that Treasury had approved funds from goods and services for this structure.

The Chairperson asked how the Secretariat was coordinating work done by other departments.

Ms Tshabalala said the Secretariat was an establishment of the Department, not a separate entity.

Ms F Masiko (ANC) said she supported the oversight visits proposed by Ms Sharif. She asked what form the Council was envisaged to take, given the abandonment of the Board of Trustees route.

The Chairperson asked for clarification of the percentage portion of government versus civil society in the make-up of the Council.

Mr Mphithi supported all the recommendations of Ms Sharif. He said the implementation process of the Department had been very slow. What interventions was the Department going to make to speed up implementation of the NSP and the establishment of the Council, and what was the Department doing to review its database of civil organisations to make it extensive? Civil society was the frontline workers for GBV. He said the absence of the Ministers was not a great message that was being sent out, as the implementers were the executive authorities.

At this point, Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, and the DG, Adv Mikateko Maluleke, of the DWYPD, joined the meeting.

The Chairperson said the DWYPD should not rely on the Offices of the Premiers but should have their own database of civil society organisations.

Mr S Ngcobo (DA) supported the recommendations made by Ms Sharif and the UMF on the fast-tracking of the establishment of the Council, and that all reports regarding the bill are made public so civil society was well informed. 

Ms P Sonti (EFF) said the EFF welcomed the petition. She asked the Department what its primary intention had been in the establishment of a Board of Trustees, to establish the Council. Did the Department have the capacity to establish the Council, and what progress had been made in establishing it? Was a budget allocated to fulfil the task? How much was the budget, and had it been used? If yes, what had it been used for? The Committee needed to set a reasonable timeframe target for the establishment of the Council. She said an ad hoc committee should be established, comprising this Committee and the Committee on Justice, to oversee the establishment of enabling legislation.

Chairperson Mvana welcomed the recommendations of Ms Sharif and the UMF. She requested the UMF to extend their scope to the rural areas also. She said today was also World Social Workers Day.

The Chairperson asked Ms Tshabalala about their consultation with NEDLAC, as the bill could not stagnate because NEDLAC was not responding.

Ms G Marekwa (ANC) spoke to the fear that children who had experienced GBV faced.

Ms A Hlongo (ANC) welcomed all the recommendations of Ms Sharif and the UMF.

Ms Tshabalala said the Department had been given a budget of R5m under goods and services. The costing of the Secretariat was over R2.3m, so the Department had requested Treasury to allow them to shift the Secretariat’s costs from goods and services to compensation of employees (CoE).

The structure of the NSP was captured in chapter 5 of the plan and was comprised of 49% of government and 51% civil society.

She said there was a process underway to appoint a service provider to enhance and consolidate their current database.

Ms Ngqulungu said that after incorporating the inputs received, the Department had submitted the bill to NEDLAC for deliberation. 

The Chairperson said she was worried when comments like “the issue was not in their hands” were made, as social partners should take full responsibility and they should be given a time frame. The Department had to follow up.

Minister Zulu thanked the UMF. She said all organisations had to act in unison against GBV.

At this point, the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, joined the meeting.

Ms Sharif said she accepted the report by the Department, but would hold them accountable to do their work.

Ms Buso said the UMF had availed their resources and reached out to the Committee. She noted the requests to work in rural areas, and said the UMF did work in rural areas.

DSD on progress on implementation of NSP on GBVF

Minister Zulu said that day was Social Workers Day, and it was important to work on the preventative side of GBV. The DSD noted the UMF petition, and she appreciated the strong call for oversight. The Department had funded 312 civil organisations to the tune of more than R95m. She noted that some of the organisations were not accountable. If they had challenges, the Department would assist them.

She excused herself from the meeting.

Mr Mchunu said the Department focused its work on pillars 4 and 2 of the NSP-GBVF -- response, care, support and healing; and prevention and rebuilding and social cohesion respectively -- and focused interventions for religious groups, boys and men and the LGBT community. On Pillar 3 -- justice, safety and protection -- the emphasis was on legislative reforms.

Ms Siza Magangoe, Chief Director: Families, DSD, said the Department’s core responsibility was to provide psycho-social services using shelters and the Thuthuzela Çare Centres. She said there were 140 shelters in total in the country, with a bed capacity of 1 687. Due to the demand for psycho-social services, the capacity of the GBV command centre had been increased by 15, and 44 out of 52 districts across the country had shelters. The Department has appointed 200 social workers in provinces, focusing on the fight against GBV. 100 GBVF ambassadors had been trained and deployed to provide services in hotspots, and they had implemented 164 campaigns.

The two key challenges the Department was facing were the establishment of shelters in every district, as eight districts were still without shelters, and the limited services to the LGBTIQ community. It proposed that Treasury treat GBV as a pandemic so that it would allocate funding in accordance with fighting a pandemic; that provinces prioritise and institutionalise GBV services to improve reporting; that ongoing funding for the remaining district shelters be provided, as the initial funding has been sourced from external stakeholders to establish four shelters in districts without shelters; and that the capacity of social workers be built up to provide effective services.

The Chairperson asked how the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that were allocated funds were monitored. She also asked whether the Department had partnered with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). Did the Department have a working relationship with the Commission on Gender Equality (CGE), as both had programmes related to boys? How did the Department get reports on its ambassadors on GBV issues?

Ms A Abrahams (DA) said there were at least two discrepancies between the presentation they had received and the one presented at the meeting. It had been reported that the Victims Support Bill was sitting at Cabinet. Could this be clarified? She wanted the list of the new civil society organisations (CSOs) that had benefited from the Criminal Assets Recovery Account (CARA) grant. How were the ambassadors recruited and what kind of training did they get, and what kind of support did they themselves get? She wanted to confirm that the Khuseleka Centres had not yet received a budget. Was the support for women at shelters still only R59 per person per night? Were children who went to the shelter with women given a different subsidy? She said the presentation had noted that some provinces did not prioritise GBV, hence provincial reporting was lacking as it was inconsistent. This was frightening. Which provinces were they, and why were they not prioritising GBV?

The Chairperson said the DWYPD had established rapid response teams. Did the ambassadors have a relationship with these teams?

At this point, Ms Mvana took over the role of Chairperson.

Ms Masiko said the Committee needed to find out whether the skills development programmes at the shelters were developing women to be able to get employment. The Committee had received a report from the CGE on the status of shelters which had noted that there was no uniformity in how provinces were handling shelters. Was there no standardised way of establishing or operating shelters? She asked how the 200 social workers were deployed. Were the ambassadors screened correctly? She asked whose responsibility the prioritising of GBV in the provinces was? Was it the DSD or the Office of the Premier?

Ms Sharif asked the Department about their plans to establish an LGBT shelter, as this group often felt unsafe at the current shelters. What were the statistics for safe houses in the different provinces? Which were the provinces that were not prioritising GBV? Could the Department provide the list of stakeholders who had received funding for shelters? Did the capacitation of front-line workers entail a curriculum, and was there accreditation at the end?

Mr Mphithi wanted more information on the boys' and men's assemblies. He wanted to know if there were plans to increase the shelters in Limpopo and the Free State.

Ms B Masango (DA) asked whether up to now GBV had not been treated by Treasury as a pandemic. The lack of prioritisation in operationalising GBV was concerning to her. Were there any reports Members could get relating to the ambassadors? 

Ms M Hlengwa (IFP) wanted a breakdown of the shelters per province and district.

Ms Sonti asked where rural women could get help and support for their projects because unemployment was not just amongst the youth group -- women had to sustain children too.

Ms L Arries (EFF) asked what the Department was doing to encourage more shelters being established, and what budget they had put aside for it. What developmental programmes were there for women in shelters?

Department's response

Ms Magangoe said the Department did work with the NYDA through partnerships and joint programmes. She said they were working with the NYDA on a campaign at universities and orientation weeks.

The Department had approached the Health and Welfare sector education and training authority(SETA) on how best it could support the ambassadors financially, as the Department at that time did not have a budget allocation for that project. SETA had approved a proposal for training and appointed an implementing agent whose services included monitoring and evaluation.

On the work around men and boys, she said the programme conducted community dialogues with them. The programme also provided trauma counselling and sessions on cultural practices.

Currently, the Department had challenges around the Khuseleka budget, as the budget for each Khuseleka centre was R15m per year, and the Department had engaged Treasury on this. The donors they had approached were the European Union (EU), the National Lottery and SANAC, but they had not yet received feedback from all of them. The donor investment had been just a once-off to establish the centre, and it was expected that provinces should sustain the centres.

On the rapid response teams, she said they were working with the ambassadors, whose primary task was raising awareness and to refer victims to the appropriate agencies.

She said the establishment of shelters in each district was in the Department’s plans. In 2022/23. it planned to establish four of the eight required.

It was true that there was no uniformity in how the shelters provided services, but this was because there had not been a policy on sheltering. The Department had therefore developed a policy on sheltering and psycho-social services, and this was currently going through approval processes in the Department. In the next financial year, there would be a policy that would standardise shelter services.

She agreed that the 200 additional social workers were not enough. The 200 were deployed at the district level, not the local level, and they serviced a number of departments.

Ms Magangoe said the ambassadors had not been screened but had been recruited from NGOs registered with the Department. The NGOs already knew the volunteers and had trained them, and the Department had provided further training.

On the skills development programmes for women at shelters, she said the Department was working with the SETAs to accredit the skills development programmes that the shelters provided. It was working with the information technology (IT) and textile industries and wanted to work with agriculture also.

The LGBTIQ issue was a challenge regarding shelters. Some of the shelters were not government shelters, but the Department supported the work done there.    

On the work ambassadors did, she said they conducted awareness and education campaigns and did door-to-door campaigns and referrals for various NGOs.

The shelters did have therapeutic programmes, with social workers providing counselling. The Department was addressing the current gaps in services.

Mr Mchunu said the Department took a very strict approach to the monitoring and evaluation of civil society organisations, with very rigorous site visits. No funding was given without reports having been handed in, and disbursements were done in tranches. Struggling NGOs were put through training and mentoring programmes. The Minister had launched a programme to get community forums to engage around GBV issues. It had started with religious leaders and was now extending into other community forums. The family unit was a critical focal point.

The CARA list of funders had been made available the previous year, but the Department would do so again.

He said it was not about provinces not prioritising GBV, but rather about provinces that did not have shelters. This matter had been critically discussed at a Ministers and Members of Executive Council (MinMec) meeting the previous day. A serious effort needed to be made to ensure each district had a shelter. The relevant provinces were Limpopo and the North West, and the Department was establishing a task team on this matter as per the MinMec meeting. Government had a crucial role to play, but it was of equal importance that other sectors of society work together in a social compact to drive out the GBVF scourge.  

DoH on progress on implementation of NSP on GBVF

Deputy Minister Dhlomo said the presentation by the Department of Health (DoH) on GBVF would focus on the key NSP Pillars 2, 4, 5 and 6, on the prevention and rebuilding of social cohesion; response care, support and healing; economic power and research and information through its health partner, the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). He quoted the President, saying that GBV was a crisis tearing the country apart, affecting communities and was an affront to their shared humanity. 

Dr Zukiswa Pinini, Acting DDG: HIV/AIDS and Maternal Health, DoH, spoke to the four pillars.

On Pillar 2, she spoke to building the capacity of health providers on GBVF through training interventions and GBVF awareness and outreach programmes, and support programmes that delivered GBVF preventative interventions. GBVF interventions were also integrated into substance abuse and HIV programmes. It also facilitated community interventions promoting social connectedness and healing.

On Pillar 4, it collaborated in the training of health care professionals, with 1 713 professionals trained and the development of integrated management information systems.

On Pillar 5, women were prioritised in the procurement of health services and consumables.

On Pillar 6, it reviewed GBV evidence-based indicators and data for the health sector through the SAMRC’s femicide prevalence and prevention research study. Intimate partner femicide remained a huge problem, but there had been a slight reduction over the years since the study started, which was attributed to increased activism amongst women and community-based organisations and the government’s policy and practices.

Discussion
Ms H Ismail (DA) said she was concerned that new sexual assault cases at health facilities had increased. How was the Department addressing this? The CGE had made various recommendations regarding shelters. Was the Department taking heed of these recommendations, and could a full report be provided? Was there a successful pilot collective input programme? She noted that health care workers were exhausted. Did the Department develop support programmes for them?

Mr M Sokatsha (ANC) asked if there were any capacity building programmes the Department was running at churches because he had seen that priests were at the forefront of GBV.

Ms M Clarke (DA) asked if there were any counselling facilities for health care workers, as they were at straining point due to staff shortages. How much of the budget was allocated to training doctors on GBV prevention? Were rape testing kits stored at the hospitals? How many of the sexual assault cases were treated by collecting evidence with rape kits?  

DoH's response

In reply to Ms Ismail’s question, Deputy Minister Dhlomo said the figures for sexual assault were not for assaults taking place at the hospital, but for those who were admitted to the hospital.

He said all health facilities did stock rape kits, but the police stations were the point of entry. and should stock the rape kits there.

On the counselling and support of staff members, he said there were still chaplaincy programmes in some provinces where psycho-social support services were provided.

On the recommendations of the CGE on shelters, Dr Pinini said she did not have an answer immediately available, and would answer that in writing.

Dr Evah Mulutsi, Deputy Director: Forensic Psychiatry, DoH, said there were health and wellness services and programmes available for staff, and this was in line with the policy prescripts of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), which was the custodian of health and wellness for all public sector employees, and the Department also engaged with the private sector to increase capacity.

Deputy Minister Dhlomo said the Department would also provide in writing the figures on the budget targeting training, asked by Ms Clarke.

An official of the Department said the health facilities did not keep a large number of rape kits for those that were admitted at night, but the mandate was for the police to keep stocks to provide to rape victims at the police station as a point of entry.

The meeting was adjourned.