Human Rights & Gender Justice

The Africa Division at our Head Office recently engaged with group of "loud and proud" Queer feminist activists and writers from South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya on their motivation and inspiration for their feminist activist work on gender and sexual identity. A series of published interviews have since followed. Read here a conversation had with South African activist Seoketsi Mooketsi (Seopowerr). 

Cape Town - A little more than a month since the launch of the National Shelter Movement of South Africa’s (NSMSA) 24-hour toll-free shelter helpline, the centre has revealed that 776 calls have been fielded.

Our partners at the National Shelter Movement of South Africa have launched their own 24-hour toll-free Shelter Helpline. This is the first national helpline exclusively dedicated to helping victims of domestic abuse access shelter services in each of the nine provinces, while also assisting with a variety of other issues that impact survivors. The call centre is based in Cape Town and is currently operated by three social workers. Read the full press release here.

Domestic violence puzzles people. Why does one person in a relationship abuse another; why does the one being abused stay in this relationship; and what should those who know about this do about it? The solution to these dilemmas, proposed by the Department of Justice in its amendments to the 1998 Domestic Violence Act, is this: that everybody must report any knowledge of domestic violence to the police or a social worker – or face criminal charges. This article, based on a submission to Parliament by the author in collaboration with a range of other organisations, including HBF, interrogates this new proposed provision.

2020 marks the 20th year of the UN Security Council's Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. On this anniversary, our Brussel's office has put together a dossier entitled "No Women - No Peace" that portrays 20 women from various countries across the world that make a difference in peace and security; South African activist Nomarussia Bonase is one such woman who has spent her life working with victims of violence, fighting social inequity, and taking a stand against injustice.

Online event: 20th anniversary of landmark UNSC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security Join us in commemorating the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.  

At the intersection of religion and sexuality, this journal article, based on research supported by HBF's Keeping the Faith project, explores how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people navigate dynamics of inclusion and exclusion within faith-based settings.

Our partner NSM has recently penned an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa calling for an intervention to urgently address the murderous funding issues with women's shelters.

Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s international broadcaster and media outlet, recently filmed a documentary on corona in South Africa and its impact on communities of Cape Town. DW Reporter Adrian Kriesch spoke to several community members including Caroline Peters of the Callas Foundation and the Cape Flat Women's Movement, one of our partners. Caroline runs a women's support group helping women who seek reprieve from domestic violence. Watch the full documentary here.

The countrywide lockdown is necessary to curb the spread of Covid-19 but, for many, isolating in the home presents a more immediate, and dangerous, threat than falling victim to the disease.