Chairperson and hon members ...
... ngiyabona ukuthi ozakwethu abangaphesheya bavutha bhe! [... I see that my colleagues on the other side are burning with rage!]
Also, our media is often open compared to the media from other countries, because some women are experiencing worse than we are experiencing in this country. We all shall remember that our former state President Nelson Mandela said that "liberation will be achieved only when women are fully emancipated", and of course, women are not yet fully emancipated. [Applause.]
We are supposed to be celebrating International Women's Day and also the Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum. However, it is such a pity on this day that we are talking about gender-based violence because it seems to be hitting the world and not only South Africa. This is quite a pity. Gender- based violence is a social ill that should become a prominent feature on the country's political agenda. We should be celebrating International Women's Day, but it is not possible to do so because gender-based violence has gone beyond being a scourge and is close to becoming an epidemic.
Women's rights are human rights, and this is in our Constitution. These rights go with responsibilities. Legislation alone is inadequate to overcome this scourge. In many instances, most women who are experiencing gender violence often have no knowledge about the empowering tools, and those that have it fear that they will experience violence from the law enforcement agencies; they will have no money for economic survival; and they will have no residence with their children, hence they stay in violent situations.
We have a big responsibility as a country to begin to dialogue on gender- based violence and also to educate our people as a whole, our children and particularly boy-children, that they must respect the bodies of girls and women and their own bodies, particularly where men begin to abuse boys.
It is very crucial to work very closely with nongovernmental organisations, NGOs. We have NGOs that have long been in the field, like Masimanyane, Sisonke, Men for Change, and others that are really very serious about issues of violence. Some of them even want to participate in the shadow report that goes to New York, but most of the time they do not have the opportunity to do so.
The education campaign should be packaged in languages that everybody will understand, and not only in English, because then not all women will understand. It is important to get people who will actually be ready to do this because these papers cannot go there and talk to the people. We need people to talk to them.
Perhaps all of us, as we are sitting here, have a responsibility in our constituencies, and all of us - as I always say - all of us say that people went to Beijing and are talking about rights that come from Beijing. One of the speakers, I think it was the first speaker, spoke about what was said in Beijing. However, in Beijing the issue of Cedaw was very important. Most countries in Africa use that Cedaw document in most cases. Why can't our judiciary use the same for the protection of women from gender-based violence? [Applause.]
Siyacela bandla komamezala, ngoba nabo baye bathi, "bekezela mntanami nami ngabekezela." [We are asking the mothers-in-law to refrain from saying, "persevere, my daughter-in-law, I also did the same."] [Laughter.]
However, nobody can persevere these days, when it is impossible to do so.
Okwesibili, singathanda futhi ukuthi uMnyango wezoBulungiswa Nokuthuthukiswa KoMthethosisekelo impela uke uphume ngezinhlaka zawo ukuyofundisa ezindaweni futhi ufundise labo abaphethe ezendabuko ukuze nabo babambe iqhaza bangagcini ngokuhlawulisa inkomo kodwa bagcine ngokuthi bagqugquzele umuntu aye kwezomthetho ukuze udaba lwakhe luphathwe ngokomthetho. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Secondly, we would like the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, through its structures, to take the education campaign to the communities to educate the traditional authorities so that they too can take part in this. This is to ensure that they not only remain interested in fining people, for which the payment is cows, but in the end are able to encourage people to approach the courts to handle their matters legally.] To South Africa, it is very important to make sure that gender-based violence is prohibited. The government has done so much but very little is known.
The government has, according to the report of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, on 15 February 2012, done the following, amongst other things facilitated the implementation of domestic violence legislation; 385 magistrate courts were classified under the Domestic Violence Act in terms of section 1 of the Domestic Violence Act. The Department of Social Development has established 60 shelters countrywide for victims of violence against women; 42 places of safety and 254 children's homes for women and children in need of care and protection were established. There was also the establishment of government structures to ensure a co-ordinated response and joint monitoring of performance, and there is a further accredited family law practice learnership programme.
This family law practice programme came up with a braille booklet to help those people who have a visual disability, because we can talk to them and give them papers, even in courts, but they can only read braille and nothing else. Then there are people who are deaf. We have no interpreters, even in court. When anyone wants an interpreter, one would go for one's mother and say, please interpret for me. However, the court would say that they wanted an educated interpreter and this person is not educated so as to understand what is being interpreted. The third point that is experienced by women under the law ...
... yilabo abagula ngengqondo abathi uma sebedlwenguliwe sebelapha enkantolo kubuzwe ukuthi: "Uyamazi umuntu okudlwengulile?" Athi: "Yebo ngiyamazi." Bathi kuye: "Ngubani?" Yena athi: "Ngumfana wakwasibanibani." Kuthiwe "Ngubani igama lakhe?" Athi: "Hhayi ngulowa mfana wakwasibani wesibili." (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[... relates to those women with mental disabilities who, after being raped, are asked in court: "Do you know the person who raped you?" She would respond by saying: "Yes I know him." When asked: "Who is he?" She would say, "It is So-and-So's son." She would be asked: "What is his name?" And she would say: "Yes, it is that second born son of So-and-So."]
And you truly find out that it was the second son of Mr or Mrs So-and-So. The witness knows that rapist, but nobody will listen to them and they end up losing the case, particularly persons with mental disabilities.
Nine victim-friendly rooms were put into operation in the SA Police Service at certain points so as to facilitate work. Twenty-seven were operational and 27 were partially operational. The Thuthuzela Care Centres have seen 20 496 victims of domestic violence. People were assisted by the Thuthuzela Care Centres from 2010-11. The police received a five-day domestic violence learning programme, but I wonder if they understood what domestic violence is all about.
The National Prosecuting Authority has trained prosecutors on the Sexual Offences Unit. The Ndabezitha training for traditional leaders was also done, but we would really like to see more of it so that we can have Ndabezithas throughout the country, having been trained to deal with these issues of violence. I thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.