GBV

Claudia Lopes, Programme Manager at the Heinrich Böll Foundation reports on the recent rape, torture and death of 3-year old Jamie Naidoo and questions state funding to social welfare organisations and the long-term impact of the 16 Days of Activism on No Violence against Women and Children.

Sexualised Violence in the National Debate: Cross-border observations from India and South Africa” is a joint project between the South Africa and the India offices of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. The learning exchange project produced two comparative studies which analysed the political, media and community responses to the rape and murder’s of Anene Booysen in South Africa and Jyoti Singh Pandey in India. Considering that levels of violence against women are high in both countries, but either widely ignored or taken as normalcy, what were the dynamics and specific factors and circumstances that propelled them into national and international prominence and can unpacking this influence the development of enhanced strategies to tackling endemic violence against women?

South Africa and its fellow-BRICS member India may share many positive traits, including economic growth potential and regional leadership status, but also some more negative characteristics: high levels of inequality and high levels of violence against women, to name two (not unconnected). Within months of each other, over late 2012/early 2013, India and South Africa both experienced the nation-rocking rape and murder of a young woman: the Indian medical student Jyoti Singh Pandey, and the Bredasdorp teenager Anene Booysen. But social and political responses differed greatly in the two countries, as a discussion last week in Cape Town revealed.

South Africa's response to the brutal rape of 17-year-old Anene Booysen was "sporadic and uncoordinated", according to a Heinrich Böll Foundation research paper that was released at the beginning of July.

On the 15th of August 2013, representatives of the departments of Social Development and Health, parliament and civil society attended a roundtable hosted at the Heinrich Böll Foundation to explore multi-sector responses for improved shelter services for abused women.

On the 10th of September 2013, representatives from civil society organizations and government officials attended the launch of the third and final shadow report that the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre (TLAC) and the Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF) have undertaken in their "Strengthening the State's Response to Gender Based Violence" project.

In South Africa, a woman is raped every 26 seconds. The Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre together with the Heinrich Böll Foundation have unveiled a mural in Johannesburg to highlight the need for the state and communities to improve their response to violence against women.