Hon Minister, your time has expired. Thank you.
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Lastly, on 4 December President Zuma will embark on the 9th Siyahlola Presidential Monitoring Campaign in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, where he will commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities with people with disabilities from all over the country.
We will close the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign in Rustenburg, in the North West, on 10 December ...
Minister, your time has expired.
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: ... where the Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe, will launch the National Council against Gender-based Violence. Working together we can do more ...
Madam Chair, I have a point of order. [Interjections.] I have a point of order.
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: ... to eradicate this scourge. I thank you. [Time expired.][Applause.]
Hon members, I allowed the Minister a few more minutes extra because she was outlining where these campaigns were going to be, for the information of all of us. Thank you. [Interjections.]
Madam, she didn't obey your order.
I call upon the hon Lamoela.
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: I apologise to the Chairperson and to the House. Thank you for giving another minute to apologise.
House Chair, today I want to start off by paying tribute to all our social workers, auxiliary social workers and community development workers who, with minimal resources, huge challenges and brave intentions, fight diligently to implement and monitor legislation made by us in this House. I want to sincerely thank all non-governmental organisations, NGOs, faith-based organisations, FBOs, and other civil society organisations, on whom we rely for 60% of welfare services and who tirelessly protect women and children against discriminatory action.
Equality is both a founding value of the Constitution and a fundamental right. But what does this equality mean in practice, and what does it mean for women and children?
This year we want to draw attention to the perpetual cycles of inequality and vulnerability that women and children continue to face despite the existence of excellent legislation. Vulnerability and inequality expose women and children in particular to pervasive levels of violence and abuse.
It is therefore crucial that government identifies these groups of vulnerable women and children, and ensures that policies and programmes are established to create an environment where they are better equipped to deal with and overcome these challenges.
South African legislation and policies set out important principles related to gender-based violence and the protection, safety and wellbeing of women and children. However, many South African women and children are not enjoying a safe environment in which their rights are a reality and are protected, especially those in rural areas. Important legislation in this regard includes the Children's Act and the Domestic Violence Act.
Here we can just allude to the tremendous shortage of social workers, workers who could have helped to implement the Act. The problem is that government has failed to ensure that the necessary resources are in place to implement these policies and achieve the desired outcomes. As a result, levels of violence and abuse against women and children still continue to rise.
There is an urgent need for educational programmes and awareness campaigns to address the attitudes and biases that lead to these abhorrent crimes, to provide support to individuals and communities affected by them, especially in the rural areas, and to empower people to stand together and demand support and change to a system that is failing them.
Here, I need to refer to the rape and murder of Sihle Sikoji from Gugulethu, who will be laid to rest on Saturday. Our sincere condolences go to her family, and particularly her mother, Ntombizanele. This is only one of the many incidents that would never have happened if legislation and proper enforcement had been in place. Where was the task team that was supposed to investigate these hate crimes? What were the findings and the recommendations?
The Domestic Violence Act is an excellent piece of legislation. However, the fact that the SA Police Service does not consider domestic violence a stand-alone crime when it compiles statistics, means that they cannot track trends and develop effective policy strategies to combat domestic violence.
I have some recommendations to help the elimination of violence against women and children. Firstly, a five-year plan for the effective policing of domestic violence must be developed. In this plan clear goals, timelines and targets for the effective implementation of the Act need to be set. Also, the role of the SAPS evaluation service in monitoring whether these targets are being met or not, should be clearly stated.
Secondly, the referral of victims of domestic violence to health care centres for service and counselling by police officers must be closely monitored, as our public hearing revealed that this was not being implemented - and this was recently done.
Thirdly, it is imperative that domestic violence registers are maintained and monitored at all police stations. To this end, the officials responsible for monitoring and maintaining the registers must be held to account.
Fourthly, a mechanism should be developed to deal with withdrawals, or situations where women do not wish to lay charges but nonetheless still require help and protection.
Lastly, it is imperative that sufficient resources, such as specialised personnel, forensic specialists and forensic laboratories, should be allocated for evidence collected.
More than educating women on their role and value, I think it is absolutely crucial that men are sensitised as to their role in society. Some men are confused about their role as they are led by the example inadvertently set by their absent or abusive fathers. Some men are confused about their role and they experience pressure from other men who model ill-behaviour.
It is indeed a vicious cycle and can only be changed by a definite mind- set, a mind-set that teaches men about their value and worth - a clear definition of what it means to be a real man and a message so clear that it silences the messages of bad role models. In other words, this is a mind- set that knows that, firstly, real men don't hurt women; then, a real man takes responsibility for his children and does not abandon them and so repeat the cycle; and, lastly, a real man does not rape.
As it is the mandate of the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities to promote, facilitate, co-ordinate and mentor in regard to making the rights of women, children and people with disabilities a reality, I call on the Minister please to leave no stone unturned in fostering a dignified and secure environment for both women and children in our country. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Speaker, something has gone terribly wrong in our society. In 2006, Zoliswa Nkonyana of Khayelitsha, at the age of 19, was clubbed, stoned and beaten to death by a mob of young men. The only "crime" she had committed was her sexual orientation, recognised and protected in our highly esteemed Constitution.
In 2012, more than five lesbians have been murdered. This number includes the 19-year-old Sihle Skotshi, who was attacked and murdered on 9 November in Kosovo, an informal settlement in Philippi, Cape Town. Sihle was stabbed in the chest with a mini spear. Her friend, who was also a victim of corrective rape, was stabbed in the arm when she tried to intervene. She did not report the rape, nor did she go for a medical checkup in regard to sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy, for fear that the perpetrators would receive bail and go after her.
How long will these young women live in fear? What will it take for women and girls to progressively see their human rights, which are violated daily, become a reality? According to a study by Interpol, South Africa leads the world in the number of rape incidents. Rape violates human rights and causes immediate and long-term health problems for the victims. It is estimated that a woman born in South Africa has a greater chance of being raped than learning how to read. It is also estimated that 500 000 rapes are committed annually in South Africa.
A 2010 study led by the government-funded Medical Research Foundation states that in Gauteng province, home to South Africa's most populous city, Johannesburg, more than 37% of the men said they had raped a woman. Nearly 7% of the 487 men surveyed said they had participated in a gang rape.
The South African sociolinguist Buntu Mfenyana defines "ubuntu" as "the quality of being human". It is a spirit of participatory humanism. In its practical manifestation, ubuntu includes any actions that express an individual, organisational, corporate or governmental commitment to expressing compassion, caring, sharing and responsiveness to the community as a whole. Ubuntu embraces and requires justice. It inspires, and therefore creates, a firm foundation for our common humanity. Sadly, the eclipse of ubuntu has darkened the spirit of our country. The raping of a 94-year-old woman in front of her great-grandchildren demonstrates this.
Cope reiterates its call to all South Africans to join hands and fight this moral decay. In his reply last week President Zuma said there was leadership in government. Where is this leadership when elderly women are raped; when lesbians are brutally murdered; and when infants are gang- raped? [Interjections.]
Harry Truman once said: "Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better." Let us not end here with this debate, but continue with education and with awareness programmes in all public places and where people meet to have fun. Thank you. [Applause.]
Thank you. I now call upon the hon Zikalala. [Interjections.] Members, this is a very important and serious debate. Let us treat it as such.
Hon Chairperson, South Africa has failed and is still failing to protect its women and children from violence.
It is gut-wrenching to have to admit that our country has the highest incidence of rape in the world, but even more sickening is the fact that a quarter of sexual offences involve children aged between nought and 10 years of age. Chair, 500 000 rapes are committed annually in South Africa. This means that a woman in South Africa is more likely to get raped than educated! This is a great shame for any country.
The origin of this problem can only be a lack of education on sexuality and HIV itself. In this day and age in South Africa, how can we still be battling with the myths associated with HIV, with boys and men believing that they will be cured of HIV by raping a young child, the virgin cleansing myth; with their blaming their behaviour on a patriarchal system as a result of apartheid; with their believing that sexual harassment and forms of sexual coercion are normal male behaviour; and their believing that it is not violent to force sex upon someone they know?
What this shows is that our country is failing its people and that we as a nation do not have moral fibre.
There is a blatant lack of respect for women and children, and there is a blatant lack of education on HIV. We know only too well that those who are not educated act negligently towards themselves and others because of their own ignorance.
In a survey conducted among 1 500 school children in the Johannesburg township of Soweto, a quarter of all the boys interviewed said that "jackrolling", a term for gang rape, was fun. Furthermore, more than half of those interviewed insisted that when a girl says no to sex she really means yes.
We live in a society in which 10% of men condone a man's beating a woman, and a quarter of them believe that a woman does not have the right to say no to sex. Of South African men who know somebody who has been raped, 16% believe that the rape survivor enjoyed the experience and had asked for it.
In a study led by the Medical Research Foundation in Gauteng province, more than 37% of the men had raped a woman, and 7% of them had participated in a gang rape. The SA Police Service estimated that only one in 36 rape cases was reported and of those only 15% culminated in a conviction.
The statistics are vast and horrifying. The psychology of our women and children is being crippled. We cannot even measure the consequences thereof.
Hon Chairperson, the IFP would like effective education on HIV and rape to be its foremost concern. It is long overdue. [Time expired.] I thank you.
Hon Chairperson, every year this House comes together and debates the 16 days of activism. While I believe that our discussions carry significant weight, I think it is time to stop and ask ourselves when we will move from talking, marching, meeting and reflecting to action.
We have an entire department, backed by a budget of approximately R143 million per year, to co-ordinate, facilitate and monitor the rights of vulnerable people, including women and children, and to make them a reality.
A number of significant pieces of legislation, including the Domestic Violence Act and the Children's Act, are in place, but every year we are faced with the same challenges.
Violence against women is often misinterpreted as being one- dimensional. We need to come together to change this perspective. Violence occurs on multiple levels - physical, emotional, financial and sexual - and women and children are faced with numerous simultaneous challenges, depending on individual circumstances.
The Department of Social Development is the primary department responsible for improving the livelihoods of vulnerable women and children. Their mandate is to provide comprehensive, integrated, sustainable and quality social development services.
The Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities should be taking the lead in promoting, facilitating, co-ordinating and monitoring the rights of the vulnerable people, including women and children, and making those rights a reality.
In conclusion, Chairperson, let us start joining hands with non- governmental organisations and civil society, who are rendering an invaluable service in the social welfare sector of this country, but are not being adequately resourced to carry out those services. This would go a long way in eliminating and preventing all forms of violence against women and girls. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Chairperson. Ka segage?u re re sekata ke lenaba le legolo la set?haba. I repeat: Sekata ke lenaba le legolo la set?haba. A rapist is an enemy to the nation. I repeat: A rapist is an enemy to the nation.
Great strides have been made in dealing with the high levels of inequality in South Africa. The South African Constitution provides for equality in all respects, including issues relating to gender equality.
Despite our progressive Constitution, however, we live in a country where gender-based violence has become an everyday occurrence. I am sure we have been listening to the speeches here. A number of examples have been given of things that we do not like in our communities regarding the way women are treated by men. In fact, we should not be shy to say that there are a lot of men who are actually guilty of violence against women. Some are even proud to be experts in giving their wives a hiding! We do not want to hear such things.
Gender violence is the most pervasive yet least recognised human rights abuse in the world. Its main characteristic is that it involves power imbalances where, more often than not, men are the perpetrators and women are the victims. Every day we read and hear stories of men raping women and girls. The media is also littered with stories of men ill-treating and physically abusing their partners.
For example, during this debate last year I shared with the House the shocking story of a pregnant 16-year-old girl, Simphiwe Mmola, a Grade 10 pupil from Mankweng village in Limpopo, who was allegedly stabbed to death by her jealous 26-year-old boyfriend. Yesterday's Star newspaper ran a front-page story of an incident that happened on 3 January 2012, when a woman was allegedly tortured before being gang-raped by three men on the instructions of her husband! We know the story.
These despicable crimes show disdain for ...
Hon Kganyago, your time has expired.
Oh, give me one more minute please! [Laughter.] Asseblief! [Please!]
All right.
Give me just half a minute please, just to finish.
All right. Ek gee u een minuut. [I will give you one minute.] [Interjections.]
But there is hope. The pockets of success gained in regard to gender-based violence thus far, which are all documented, show that it can be defeated. The multisectoral approach we have been using has helped us to do away with certain cultural norms which may have unintentionally condoned gender-based violence. I will leave the rest - you will have to guess what I wanted to say! Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon House Chairperson, the ANC's abhorrence of violence against and the abuse of children is well recorded. Delegates at the 52nd National Conference of the ANC expressed this abhorrence sharply when they declared that the best interests of the child should be paramount, with child-headed households a priority for protection and care. Furthermore, the existing safety nets which deal with poverty, ongoing murders, disappearance, abuse and neglect should be strengthened, and the perpetrators of all these evil deeds should be brought to book.
South Africans have the right to freedom and security of the person, as enshrined in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of our country, Act 108 of 1996. This right includes the right to be free from all forms of violence from public or private sources. This right is violated when a child is exposed to violence, such as rape, gun violence and domestic violence.
The goal of child protection is to promote, protect and fulfil children's right to protection from abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence, as expressed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and other human rights, humanitarian treaties, conventions, and national laws.
Child protection aims to prevent, respond to and resolve the abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence experienced by children in all settings. Child protection is a specialised sector in its own right, and it is necessary to work very closely with other sectors. It requires a multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach, with work in education, health and justice.
Increasing the effective protection of children also involves working with a wide range of formal and informal bodies, including governments, multilateral agencies, donors, communities, caregivers and families. Importantly it also requires close partnership with children, including initiatives to strengthen their capacity to protect themselves.
The government has to ensure the protection of children from violence through various instruments. These instruments include the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, General Comment No 10: Children's Rights in Juvenile Justice, and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice.
These international instruments clearly stipulate the recognition of a child as being a person below the age of 18 years, whose rights are to be protected and fulfilled. These instruments and laws would improve the lives of children across the world, but they are dependent on the extent to which the state parties implement them and adopt domestic measures to comply with the relevant obligations.
These obligations would include, firstly, providing clear constitutional provisions that give expression to child rights in section 28 of our Constitution.
Secondly, other key pieces of legislation include: the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, Act 34 of 1995; the Domestic Violence Act, Act 116 of 1998; the Criminal Law Amendment Act, Act 105 of 1997; the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, Act 121 of 1998; the Sexual Offences Amendment Act of 2008; and the Children's Act, Act 38 of 2005.
Furthermore policies, norms and standards, guidelines and programmes have been developed to assist victims of gender-based violence, for example, the Victim Empowerment Programme.
Despite all the significant strides that have been made, at least one in three South African women can be expected to be raped in her lifetime, and one in four will be beaten by her domestic partner. These figures, as well as the failure of South Africa's overburdened criminal justice and health systems to respond appropriately to the crisis, suggest an unacknowledged gender civil war.
The South African government has in turn responded to the protection of children in the country in various ways. In regard to a legislative framework, the Constitution, Act 108 of 1996, has a specific part to play that deals with children's socioeconomic rights, namely in section 28.
Moreover, the following laws have a particular bearing on the protection of children. The state has various layers of obligations. In terms of section 7(2) of the Constitution the state has a duty to "respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights". Specific laws that are currently in place that protect children from maltreatment, abuse, neglect and degradation include, but are not limited to, the following: the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, Act 32 of 2007; the Children's Act, Act 38 of 2005; and the Child Justice Act, Act 75 of 2008. [Time expired.] Thank you, Chair. [Applause.]
Thank you, Chair. I have to admit that when this campaign was first launched I was sceptical. I was concerned that the real issues would be lost in the hype! The 16-day focus on violence against women and children does, however, appear to have made a difference. It is welcomed by those involved with delivering social services in communities, who say it is really important, as it is highlighting the issues, and making it a little easier for women to come out and reveal their plight.
It is, however, an enormous concern that there is not enough help or facilities in South Africa for abused women and children, nor is there adequate provision for interventions with perpetrators. Domestic violence, which is a major problem in South Africa, is a specialised field, and it is extremely complex. While it may be helpful in some cases, it is often not enough for a woman to be encouraged just to get a protection order. To break the cycle of continued abuse, professional intervention for an abused woman and her children - and the perpetrator - is crucial.
With 80% of people in South Africa claiming to be Christian, another 2% Muslim, and more people claiming other faiths, the religious platform is where people look for guidance. Religious leaders are powerful agents in setting the moral tone in communities, whether in synagogues, mosques, churches, temples or African traditional meeting places. It is these leaders that shape belief and how it is played out in family life.
Few religious leaders are ever taught how to cope with the social problems encountered in their ministry. They are flooded with women and children in distress - from the devastating consequences of drug and alcohol abuse, to the abuse of wives justified on many grounds, including lobola. Many leaders have very little idea how to respond and simply do not cope. At worst, they send women back to be submissive in abusive relationships and, at best, acquire restriction orders or jail terms.
The SA Faith and Family Institute, Saffi, recommends an approach that incorporates into the training the recognition that both parties are human and can change. In other words, it humanises the perpetrator. Abused women often say they do not want divorce; they just want the violence to stop. Many times the perpetrator is both father and provider. Locking him up makes things worse!
In order to stop the cycle of abuse and bring about change, Saffi is doing unique work in training religious leaders with denominationally specific resources to build capacity. They train people in congregations to set up support groups and accountability programmes, and to establish policy guidelines. They provide 10-day training for religious leaders which unpacks all of the issues, giving them confidence to intervene in a helpful way.
The ACDP applauds the work being done by organisations like this ...
Your time has expired, Mrs Dudley.
I'll need three seconds, Chair. The ACDP calls on government to support and fund the expansion of programmes that are successful, and also to help create public awareness where resources are available. Thank you! [Applause.]
House Chair, hon members, and ladies and gentlemen, it gives me pleasure to stand before you today to discuss the elimination of violence against women and children. The ANC has always advanced the philosophy of women's rights as human rights. This progressive and human approach has also been incorporated in our Constitution.
The ANC recognises that legislation is not the only strategy that should be used to empower women in our struggle for gender equality and against gender-based violence. However, it is important that existing legislation is used whilst ongoing attempts are made to plug whatever gaps may exist in it.
In February 1994 the ANC approved the Women's Charter for Effective Equality. Through this critical milestone the ANC reiterated its historic commitment to realising equality as envisaged in its aspiration to a nonsexist South Africa. The ANC said the following, among other things, about the principles that should underpin legislation and the administration of justice to empower women against gender-based violence:
At all times the law, and its application, interpretation, adjudication and enforcement, shall promote and ensure the practical realisation of equality for women. ...
Positive and practical measures shall be taken to ensure equality for women complainants in the criminal justice system ...
There shall be educational programmes to address gender bias and stereotypes and to promote equality for women in the legal system.
The legislation to address violence against women should aim at addressing violence comprehensively and multidimensionally. In this regard, the United Nations General Assembly urges members to do the following: revise their laws to ensure that all acts of violence against women are prohibited; revise their criminal procedures to ensure that primary responsibility for initiating prosecution lies with the authorities; ensure that acts of violence are responded to and that police procedures take into account the need for the safety of the victim; and adopt measures to protect the safety of victims and witnesses before, during and after criminal proceedings.
As a country, we do not have a scarcity of laws. Our challenge is that we are sometimes overwhelmed by these laws. We have little or no knowledge of their existence and therefore we may fail to insist on seeing them implemented. That is where it becomes important to join networks where we can empower one another and conduct joint advocacy.
Examples of laws that we can invoke include: the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, Act 120 of 1998; Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, Act 4 of 2000; Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, Act 32 of 2007; and the recently gazetted Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill, which is currently being discussed.
Perhaps the most pertinent tool in our hands is a strategy for mainstreaming issues of gender, disability, children and youth rights for governance, implementation, monitoring and evaluation in government. This strategy is expressed in a policy called South Africa's National Policy Framework for Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality. The policy includes the focus area of reducing inequality faced by women based on sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, class and urban-rural geography. It also includes a focus area on eliminating the barriers that limit women's full participation in society and the economy as equals.
In conclusion, House Chair, as a country we have made significant strides in the area of enacting legislation which will bring us ever so close to the aspirations of the Freedom Charter, which promised a society where there would be peace, security and comfort for all. We need to step up our campaigns to ensure that the benefits of these laws are enjoyed by those for whom the laws are intended.
However, there are significant gaps in the legal framework. Also, too many perpetrators are not held accountable, and still too many others destroy women's and children's lives with impunity. Furthermore, sometimes women are revictimised through the legal system. The ANC says that we can do more to improve quality of the lives of women, children and people with disabilities.
I wish to make a call on us as men that we, as the men of this country, should stand firm and resolute in word and deed in saying that gender inequality, and the abuse of women and children, cannot be done in our name. [Applause.] That will portray South African men as humane, nurturing to children, and progressive. We should be custodians of ubuntu. Our children must grow up with father figures who will set an example. I thank you. Amandla! [Power to the people.][Applause.]
Chairperson, the painful time of the year has arrived yet again when we all appear to focus our energies on one of the worst scourges in our society, which is violence against women and children. This is the commencement of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children. We will all talk the talk and attempt to walk the walk. The media will feed us stories of all forms of abuse against these vulnerable groups. At the end of the 16 days decision-makers will make new promises and pledges, and we shall then all go back to living the other 349 days in a patriarchal system that just refuses to protect its women and children.
During the 16 days most of our men will make politically correct statements condemning violence against women and children, and then they will go back to their homes, churches and work places and continue to entrench patriarchal values. Sad indeed!
A few lucky women, extremely few in fact, will go on in oblivion of the extent of the violence against women. But the majority will go on to live the 349 days in absolute fear - fear of being raped by someone close to them or by a stranger they have never seen; fear of being killed; fear of bringing children into a world where they cannot protect them; fear of the violence and abuse they face every day from intimate partners; and fear of being made to feel inferior at home, in church and at their workplace.
It is a sad scenario when research points out that one in four women is raped in South Africa, yet only one in 25 rapes will be reported to the police, and the conviction rate in these cases remains disappointingly low.
One columnist wrote that it is difficult to have the freedom to choose when you do not have freedom from systematic advantage. It is difficult to have the freedom to act when you don't have freedom from violence. It is difficult to have freedom to speak your mind when you don't have freedom from stigma, shame and social suspicion.
So, while we have beautifully written rights on perfectly prepared parchment, these are the reasons why women are not free.
The irony of the world we live in is that we all want the same things. I believe that victims and perpetrators, deep within their human souls, want the same things. We all want to be safe in our streets and we all want to be carefree.
I therefore urge all of us here, men and women, to make it an individual commitment, one person at a time, one day at time, one family at a time, to work to achieve a society where mothers can take their daughters to school knowing they will be safe on the road; where children witness no violence between their parents; where it is safe to send children out to play, with no fear; where nurses never have to treat children that have been raped; and where our girls can wear what they want to without thinking that they are inviting rape.
I believe it is achievable if we can commit ourselves to this for 365 days a year, instead of 16 days. Motlotlegi Modulasetilo, ga go na selo se se botlhoko mo botshelong jwa rona jaaka go bona motho wa mme a sotlwa ke rre. Bana ba rona ba sia malapa a bona ka ntlha ya matshelo a go sotliwa. Ke a leboga. [Nako e fedile.] [Legofi.] (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[Hon Chairperson, there is nothing more painful in life than seeing a man abusing a woman. Our children leave their homes as a result of abuse. Thank you.] [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Hon Speaker, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers and hon members, the ANC's aspirations to an equal society are unparalleled in history. The Freedom Charter envisages a society where everyone will live in security, peace and comfort. It promises that the children will be cared for by the state. In fact, the very founding principles of the ANC struggle, enunciated in the National Democratic Revolution literature, are a commitment to the genuine equality of all people. Key to this is the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the country's citizens.
Furthermore, South Africa has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides for protection from all forms of violence and discrimination. Article 9 states that children have a right to be protected from being hurt physically and mentally.
Against this background, the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities is charged with the obligation to undertake oversight visits to departments and provinces. This is to ensure that the rights of children and people with disabilities are upheld and protected, as enforced by the legislation, which prescribes access to opportunities for children with regard to skills development, and empowerment opportunities.
The oversight revealed that the impact of the combined effects of both gender and disabilities has not gained sufficient attention. Children with disabilities experience specific forms of violence associated with their disabilities, for example children with mental disability or intellectual disability. Research has shown that perpetrators of violence are often caregivers - be they at home or in institutional settings - or relatives or other children.
The lack of understanding of the situation during a sexual assault, due to their inability to say no, can be perceived as their consent to sexual abuse by the perpetrator. The burdens experienced by children with disabilities wanting to denounce violence include lack of information and communication in accessible formats.
Universal access design is still a huge challenge, and causes more impediments to them in using their full potential.
In response to the hon member from the opposition, who said that gender violence is perpetuated by a lack of leadership, I want to say that if we as Members of Parliament feel that we are not performing our leadership duties, we should not be here. We are paid to be here so as to give direction and leadership to our society. So, if we come here and say there is no leadership and criticise, as if we are tourists and not citizens of this country, I think we should leave, because we are getting salaries to serve the community. [Applause.]
In conclusion, Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General, once said:
There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and that they can grow up in peace.
Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.