The Umbrella Newsletter Issue 06 2011

Changing the River’s Flow Newsletter Issue 06 / 2011

The Safe from GBV and HIV

The negative effects of being a so-called ‘real man’ SAfAIDS Launches Leadership Rock Programme for HIV Prevention Politicians need to help sisters do it for themselves Rape - perspectives and realities

Acknowledgements SAfAIDS would like to thank everyone who contributed to this edition of The Umbrella – Safe from GBV and HIV. Producing this publication would not have been possible without the valued contributors who provided articles, photographs, insights and valuable information to our readers. The NGO sector must be applauded for all the courageous work that is being done in the response to GBV & HIV in southern Africa.

We acknowledge all the CBOs, FBOs and those individuals who selflessly volunteer and contribute in small - yet - big ways to alleviate where possible, and soothe, the pains brought on by the twin epidemics.

Most of all, we would like to express our gratitude to all the individuals who provided positive feedback and especially those who shared their personal stories and victories with us: those individual voices that continue to inspire change in all our communities - and give us hope for the future.

Contributors Mbuyiselo Botha SAfAIDS Staff Tariro Makanga-Chikumbirike Doreen Gaura Fungai Machirori Yngve Sjolund Frank Malaba Elna McIntosh Moses Magadza Janine Erasmus Natalie Davies - layout designer and photography

Thank you Rouzeh Eghtessadi and Lois Chingandu for guidance and review. Yngve Sjolund for article contributions and collation Petronella Mugoni for guidance in content direction and development of this newsletter, as well as for final editing

SESA WO SUBAN “Change or transform your character” symbol of life transformation

Disclaimer The opinions expressed in The Umbrella – Safe from GBV and HIV are those of the contributors.

While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this newsletter, the editor and SAfAIDS, its directors and members do not endorse nor are liable for the information contained in The Umbrella – Safe from GBV and HIV.

This symbol combines two separate adinkra symbols, the “Morning Star” which can mean a new start to the day, placed inside the wheel, representing rotation or independent movement.

SAfAIDS Regional Office: 479 Sappers Contour, Lynnwood, Pretoria 0081, South Africa.

Tel: +27-12-3610889; Fax: +27-12-3610899, Email: info@safaids.net; Website: www.safaids.net Country Office - Zimbabwe: 17 Beveridge Road, P.O. Box A509, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe. Tel: +263-4-336193/4; Fax: +263-4-336195, Email: info@safaids.org.zw; Website: www.safaids.net Country Office - Zambia: Plot No. 4, Lukasu Road, Rhodes Park, Lusaka, Zambia. Tel:+260-211-257652; Fax: +260-1-257652, Email: safaids@safaids.co.zm; Website: www.safaids.net Country Office - Mozambique: Avenida Ahmed Sekou Toure 1425 R/C, Maputo, Mozambique. Tel: +258-213-02623, Email: safaids@teledata.mz; Website: www.safaids.net

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CONTENTS Acknowledgments and credits

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From the Editor Yngve Sjolund

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The negative effects of being a so-called ‘real man’

By Mbuyiselo Botha SAfAIDS Launches Leadership Rock Programme for HIV Prevention

By SAfAIDS Staff

5-6

7-10

Namibia: traditional leaders working at community level to achieve zero new infections

By Tariro Makanga-Chikumbirike

10-11

Politicians need to help sisters do it for themselves

By Doreen Gaura

12-13

Rape - perspectives and realities

By Fungai Machirori

13-14

What to do when you have been 15-16 assaulted or raped Tips for survivors of rape and sexual violence and suggested approaches, useful steps and guidelines for medical professionals in southern African countries Compiled by Yngve Sjolund

Intersexions Feature Q&A with Frank Malaba and Professor Elna McIntosh

17-20

News from Africa Burundian men empower women 21-22 Abatangamuco: those who bring light where there is darkness Students take action to end gender violence on campus

By Moses Magadza

23-24

Suggested Reading

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Inspiration Celebrating heritage with dance

By Janine Erasmus

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News Bites Zambia – Anti-gender based violence bill passes second reading

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Sources

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Resources/Listings/Services SAfAIDS Regional Resources Centres

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Where To Get Help

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From the Editor

- Yngve Sjolund

The

SADC Protocol on Gender and Development urges governments to halve gender violence and to ensure gender equivalence in all areas of decision-making by 2015. In order to tackle the epidemic of gender-based violence in the region, women’s representation in local and national politics must increase.

And with seven countries in Africa that will be holding elections this year, 2011 is an important year for ensuring SADC targets are met ahead of 2015.

South Africa’s elections just completed; Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius are up for local elections next - while Madagascar, Zambia and Zimbabwe are due to hold both local and national elections later this year.

Notably, recent elections in Botswana and Namibia saw backward slides in women’s representation, and 2010 elections in Mauritius saw a paltry increase from 17.1% to 18.8%. Malawi previously showed an increase from 14-21% in women’s representation in parliament, but progress is now marred by political violence and attacks on women politicians - with no elected local government and no fixed date for 2011 local elections.

The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development (2008) proposes specific goals and targets to ensure accountability in addressing inequalities in constitutional and legal rights; governance; education and training; productive resources and employment; gender-based violence; health; HIV and AIDS; peace building and conflict resolution; and in the media, information and communication.

While some have expressed concern that the overall SADC political environment is not conducive to free and fair participation and to achieving gender equality, and criticise the lack of commitment on the part of SADC governments to fulfil obligations outlined in the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, civil society, local government authorities, gender ministries, municipalities, journalist and NGOs

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working in this sector remain steadfast in attracting female Members of Parliament and increasing women’s representation in general.

Combined with the determined efforts of SADC, southern Africa continue to fight gender-based violence (GBV) and to tackle the challenges we all face in order to reduce oppression and gender-based violence directed at women and children throughout the region.

We have a challenge at hand that can be taken up by anyone, anywhere and at any time!

If there is anything on your mind, and you have anything you would like to share with us - or would like to contribute a story or insight from you country, that can help to “Change the River’s Flow” - please contact the editor of “The Umbrella – Safe from GBV and HIV” on editor_ctrf@safaids.net “The last century we fought slavery, colonialism and apartheid. Women’s rights are the cause for the current century. We cannot eliminate poverty if we do not have women’s equal representation and participation.”

- Muna Ndulo, Gender Links Chairperson

The negative effects of being a so-called ‘real man’

By Mbuyiselo Botha SAfAIDS/REACH 2011

Patriarchy manifests itself through our families, churches, schools, workplaces and our televisions telling us that men “do not show emotions other than anger and aggression”, “do not display your vulnerabilities or fears”, “do not seek help in any shape or form”, “do not cry”, “do not refuse sex or remain faithful to one partner”, since all of these actions will in some inexplicable and nonsensical way reduce your manhood.

As men the majority of us do not have the courage or are unwilling to seriously interrogate the negative effects of what it means to be a so-called “real man” in this day and age. What makes us men?

Are we men because of our physiology or because we can make babies? Or does it depend on how many women we sleep with, or is it that we refuse to use protection even in instances where we are not sure of our own HIV status?

As men, the majority of us are trapped in a patriarchal prison.

The majority of us are misguidedly convinced that this obnoxious and preposterous system is somehow inspired by God. Are we men because of our physiology or because we can make babies? Or does it depend on how many women we sleep with, or is it that we refuse to use protection even in instances where we are not sure of our own HIV status?

We have chosen not to challenge or question patriarchy because of the unfair power it gives us, though it is toxic to our wellbeing as men.

One of the many manifestations of this toxicity is the reluctance of men to access health services, even those that are to our benefit, such as HIV testing and treatment.

Another example is male circumcision, which many men choose not to undergo despite the overwhelming evidence that it can reduce chances of contracting HIV. Another example is that we don’t stop to ask why it is that men die, on average, nearly half a decade younger than women.

We don’t ask why men drink and smoke at such disproportionately high rates, why they drive so fast and so often refuse to wear seat belts.

Or why men die of heart attacks and commit suicide more frequently than women.

As men and as a society we don’t ask why it is that men are so much less likely than women to get tested for HIV or to get on treatment when they test positive. And because we don’t ask these questions, we don’t consider the fact that all of these health problems stem from the very ideas we hold about what it means to be a man.

...while not every man is individually exploitative towards women, every man benefits generally from the overall subordination of women...the “patriarchal dividend”.

This is the sad reality of how patriarchy imprisons us men.

RW Connell has written extensively about masculinity. He proposes that while not every is individually exploitative towards women, every

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man benefits generally from the overall subordination of women, which he calls the “patriarchal dividend”.

Connell elaborates by explaining that men are also dominated by other men. A particularly pervasive and overt example of this is the relegation of gay men to a lower stratum of manhood - in extreme cases gay men may be killed or raped as a way of punishing their so-called failure to belong to the appropriate or correct box of what it means to be a man.

If we think of the expression “that is so gay”, which is often used to criticise and/or demonise behaviour that is considered outside of what is defined as manly, this illustrates poignantly the conflation of being gay with something negative.

If we think of the expression “that is so gay”, which is often used to criticise and/or demonise behaviour that is considered outside of what is defined as manly, this illustrates poignantly the conflation of being gay with something negative.

The majority of us would want to belong to this unhealthy prison called patriarchy because our

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membership confers status, power and the privileges that come with belonging to the “right” group.

This type of criticism therefore pushes many men into certain behaviour patterns in order to avoid such criticism or labelling, because they do not want to be relegated to this lower category of not being a “real man”.

It’s a natural phenomenon that we all want to be loved, appreciated and above all, accepted.

It’s a natural phenomenon that we all want to be loved, appreciated and above all, accepted.

If men do not condone and connive with the patriarchal behavioural practices of other men, this may deprive them of all the above privileges, which we all crave. Violence is often a product of this patriarchal prison, in that it is used as a way of demonstrating masculinity and power. Men may use violence as a way to reclaim their so-called “lost manhood”, if they have felt emasculated in other ways.

This is clearly shown through the violence that men perpetrate against women and children, but also through the violence that men experience at the hands of other men. This form of violence is often not spoken about, especially by male victims who do not want to seem weak or unmanly.

It is this type of silence that all men should be prepared to break in order to voice our unanimous displeasure and rejection of this system and everything it stands for. For how long will we not seek help under the guise that doing so would contradict the essence of what it means to be a man.

This silence around violence and factors causing it is often perpetuated through the excuse that it is what God designed for us men.

This silence is often perpetuated through the excuse that it is what God designed for us men.

But in actual fact, we must take cognisance that it is actually a product of socialisation.

I always ask myself, can we debunk the myth that patriarchy makes us real men?

I further ask myself if we really want to bequeath such untenable, repressive and self oppressive value systems to our children. Is this how we would like the boy child to remember us?

Mbuyiselo Botha is the Government and Media Relations Manager at Sonke Gender Justice Network, South Africa .

SAfAIDS launches Leadership Rock Programme for HIV Prevention

By SAfAIDS Staff

Unpacking the SAfAIDS HIV Rock Programme Logo The drum symbolise the communication, getting the right information to people so that they can make informed decissions in their lives.

The shield symbolises protecting our communities, protecting our families and our traditions.

The face with the sun radiating around it symbolises wisdom, leadership and guidance.

The guidance needed for us to take action against HIV. The balancing rock, tree and soil - These have been there in people’s lives for a long time. They are the foundation and a non-changing structure which supports us to make a difference. That is what leaders are bringing to the platform.

Southern

Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) held the Indaba for Southern Africa Leadership Rock Programme for HIV Prevention between the 12th and 14th of April 2011 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Indaba was held under the theme ‘Unleashing The Power of Traditional Leaders for HIV Prevention in Africa: Leaders Committed to Zero New Infections, Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS Related Deaths’.

The overall goal of The Leadership Rock Programme for HIV Prevention is to empower traditional leaders to Champion HIV Prevention to:

The Indaba was held as part of the Leadership Rock Programme for HIV Prevention, an innovative development initiative that is meant to unleash the power of traditional leaders in promoting and scaling up HIV prevention in their constituencies and communities in order to contribute to reducing by half, all new HIV infections by 2015. The programme supports traditional leaders to champion HIV prevention at community level by creating an enabling environment that promotes behaviour change towards risk reduction and addresses cultural norms that fuel HIV within communities.

Each leader present during the launch was pronounced a ‘champion’ in their community and a champion in the region, as they were encouraged to come together to make a difference in HIV prevention and the lives of their community members.

t t t t

3FEVDF OFX )*7 JOGFDUJPOT "EESFTT HFOEFS BOE TPDJFUBM DVMUVSBM OPSNT 4UPQ WJPMFODF BHBJOTU XPNFO BOE HJSMT &OIBODF TPDJBM QSPUFDUJPO GPS 1FPQMF -JWJOH with HIV (PLHIV) t 1SFWFOU NPUIFST BOE CBCJFT GSPN EZJOH PG )*7

The Indaba was the first of its kind in southern Africa, attracting 85 participants; 60 of whom were traditional leaders from Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Other participants were representatives from civil society organisations and governments.

The aim of the Indaba was to empower traditional leaders to use their influence to stop the spread of HIV by addressing harmful cultural beliefs and practices.

SAfAIDS recognised the immense power of traditional leaders which significantly make a difference in HIV

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interventions and is therefore engaging traditional leaders to use their influence in their communities to promote and scale-up HIV prevention.

The objectives of the Indaba were to: t &RVJQ USBEJUJPOBM MFBEFST XJUI LOPXMFEHF BOE skills on how to prevent HIV and manage HIV related challenges at community level. t 4USFOHUIFO UIF SPMF PG USBEJUJPOBM MFBEFSTIJQ JO addressing the drivers of HIV transmission in southern Africa, such as gender based violence, harmful cultural practices, multiple concurrent partnerships with low and inconsistent use of condoms and gender inequality. t &OIBODF QBSUOFSTIJQT CFUXFFO USBEJUJPOBM leadership and AIDS Service Organisations to complement each other’s effort in responding to GBV and HIV t 1SPNPUF TIBSJOH BOE DSPTT MFBSOJOH BNPOH NGOs and traditional leaders on how to effectively address GBV, HIV and harmful cultural practices in the region.

During the Indaba, Dr Masenjana Sibanda, Deputy Director General of the South Africa Department of Traditional Affairs reminded traditional leaders that they command a lot of respect and influence within their communities, and that through the empowerment they were getting through the

Leadership Rock Programme, traditional leaders would now be equipped with skills that would allow them to give the best assistance to their community members infected and affected by HIV. During the Indaba, chiefs in attendance also pledged to fight stigma and discrimination directed at those infected or affected by HIV and AIDS in their societies.

A key message came from Professor Claude Mararike of the University of Zimbabwe who, on unpacking the “African culture and the prevention and control of HIV and AIDS” equipped traditional leaders with what he termed the “knowledge toolkit”. The toolkit includes information on the levels of preparedness, readiness, awareness, willingness, ability and capacity which allows for successful HIV prevention interventions.

The Indaba was built up from the Changing the River’s Flow programme which SAfAIDS has been implementing since 2009. SAfAIDS launched the Leadership Rock Programme after realising that for Africa to be able to fight HIV, there is need to do things differently, by looking at the African epidemic and what is driving it. SAfAIDS found that the African epidemic had something to do with culture. As much as people love their culture, it is important for culture to protect people. SAfAIDS is therefore working with traditional leaders to find ways of how to practice culture, without exposing people to HIV infection.

The “Knowledge Toolkit” for Traditional Leaders Professor Mararike explained that traditional leaders need to: t Assess the level of preparedness of community members to understand if they are prepared to listen and to take action t Assess the community members’ readiness, to gauge whether they are mentally and physically prepared to implement activities with traditional leaders.

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t Assess their level of awareness, to see if they are aware of the problems in the area, the significance of the issues that traditional leaders want to discuss, particularly around HIV. Are they aware that these issues are actually of concern or do they think these are issues for other people? t Assess their ability to do what they say, especially in the case of political leaders. t Assess their capacity to do what they say they want to do, in a sustained manner.

Some of the southern African traditional leaders who attended the Indaba

“To me the Indaba was a revelation, exciting and an inspiring moment. I always knew that we need to work with traditional leaders. But I must confess that my vision and a picture of traditional leaders and the traditional leaders sitting in this room today are quite different. The traditional leader of today sitting here, is one who is moving with the time, one who is ready for change and one who has a very high level of understanding of issues...I have no doubt that you appreciate the seriousness of HIV, I have no doubt that you are ready to take your responsibility...many of you are already doing a lot about HIV...The journey has began...Leaving your places and work and spending three days here doing nothing but talking about HIV, for me is a typical example and display of your committed leadership.

Whenever I talk about leadership, I will not feel OK if I don’t cite other leaders...that is where I get my inspiration. I think of Martin Luther and his vision, I think of Nelson Mandela and perseverance and patience, I think of Mahatma Gandhi and his stance on peace, strength and commitment...when you are lonely...just keep in mind that you are not alone, you just need to look around for an NGO that you can go to, the church that you can go to, and the police station that you can call upon. Map who are the stakeholders in your area, who can support you... you cannot do it alone, you need supporters, sometimes it will be you who is going to need support because you are either infected or affected by HIV. When you are a leader it does not mean that you can’t be vulnerable, you need to look for support, find it and get it”.

- Message from Lois Chingandu, SAfAIDS Executive Director

As part of the Leadership Rock Programme for HIV Prevention, SAfAIDS will, for the next three years sponsor a Traditional Leader of the Year Award.

SAfAIDS will produce and launch a calendar which will be graced by selected traditional leaders who have excelled in addressing HIV in their communities;

the ‘traditional leader of the year’ will be featured on the centre of the calendar. This award is aimed at acknowledging the work of traditional leaders in community HIV prevention efforts, as well as at encouraging others to follow suit.

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Dr Masenjana Sibanda, Deputy Director General of South Africa Department of Traditional Affairs

Namibia: traditional leaders working at community level to achieve zero new infections

By Tariro Makanga-Chikumbirike

King Petros Ukongo, King of Aodaman in Namibia.

As efforts to intensify HIV prevention in southern Africa gather momentum, traditional leaders are playing an active role to ensure that their communities achieve the goal of zero new HIV infections.

T he

conference e quipped traditional leaders with basic HIV prevention information, with leaders being challenged to go and ensure that they were making a difference in their communities by ensuring that community members living with HIV get the necessary support to live positively, and that those who are HIV negative continue to stay negative.

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Following the SAfAIDS Indaba, one leader who participated is already making a difference in his community, He is King Petros Ukongo, King of Aodaman in Namibia. Upon his return to Namibia, the King gathered all his chiefs and gave them feedback on what he had learned and committed to implement.

A key message from the Indaba that made a lasting impression on the King was how medical male circumcision (MMC) can reduce a man’s risk of contracting HIV by up to 60%.

A key message from the Indaba that made a lasting impact on the King was how medical male circumcision (MMC) can reduce a man’s risk of contracting HIV by up to 60%.

This information convinced King Ukongo that he needed to implement activities to encourage community members to undergo Medical Male Circumcision as a way of reducing new infections in his communities.

The King worked with his chiefs, senior headman and headwomen in outlining the benefits of medical male circumcision and the roles that traditional leaders need to play in preventing HIV in their communities and raising awareness around HIV. Amongst the chiefs who attended the King’s feedback session was Chief Herry Haradoeb, an influential chief who has since taken on the information he got from King Ukongo and is rolling it out in his community through awareness raising of MMC.

“I am excited that the King brought us this important information that is aimed at saving us.”

- Chief Haradoeb “So far 20 men in my community have been circumcised after the King gave us the role of ensuring our men are tested and circumcised. I am moving from one farm to another, making sure men are aware of this life-saving information”, said Chief Haradoeb.

The Chief is now working with Pots of Hope, a SAfAIDS partner implementing the ‘Changing the River’s Flow’ programme in Namibia, to disseminate correct and relevant information about medical male circumcision to community members. “As traditional leaders, we used to encourage our boys to be circumcised as it was part of our culture, now we are seeing that our cultural practice can protect us from HIV. We are willing to continue with our practice and do it well. I am now talking to men to go to clinics to be properly circumcised.

I will make sure every man is convinced of the benefits of male circumcision” - Chief Haradoeb Chief Haradoeb said as much as the King shared information on other harmful cultural practices that needed to also be addressed, the communities had fully embraced the importance of medical male circumcision just a month after the King attended the Regional Rock Indaba.

Alexia Naris, Pots of Hope Executive Director, attributed the immediate impact of the Leadership Rock Programme for HIV Prevention Indaba to the involvement of the highest level of traditional leadership. “For us, because it was King Ukongo who brought the message, everyone took it seriously.

When the King said he would not be happy to see any new HIV infections amongst his tribe, everybody listened and wanted to know how they could assist. When he gave male circumcision as one of the solutions, community members embraced it with open arms”.

Working closing with traditional leaders seems to have been the missing link in HIV interventions in our region.

Naris confirmed that working with traditional leaders seems to have been the missing link in HIV interventions. Their buy-in, she felt, was resulting in faster uptake of services by communities as traditional leaders command great respect in their respective areas.

“People listen more to advice and messages coming from traditional leaders than when it is just us as NGOs speaking. Now we are working with the traditional leadership so that when we are giving out information to communities, they are also there to re-confirm whatever we are giving out. It is now therefore important that every traditional leader has correct and up to date information as they have various platforms they can use to give HIV information”, added Naris.

It is therefore important that every traditional leader has correct and up to date information.

As SAfAIDS’ Leadership Rock Programme for HIV Prevention moves into full implementation, all expectations are on seeing how traditional leaders will make a difference in their respective communities. Their commitment, made at the Indaba, is to see Zero HIV related stigma and discrimination, Zero HIV related deaths and Zero new HIV infections.

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Politicians need to help sisters do it for themselves

By Doreen Gaura

Riding a taxi home the other day I was somewhat in awe of the woman driving it. She appeared to be the owner of the vehicle, in her mid-forties, dignified and commanding respect simply by the look of pride on her face.

I am also proud when I see examples like this of “sisters doin’ it for themselves”, to borrow from the famous Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin song.

However, when, as part of my job, I go “Sisters” are through the recent doing it for Global Millennium themselves Development Goals but many are report, I cannot help but feel dismayed. These still missing South Africa “sisters” are out on job doing it for themselves security, decent but many are still missing employment and out on job security, education. decent employment and education. Worse, these are not yet prominent issues in the local government elections, where the main debate seems to be around infrastructure, not job creation or education.

Two MDG goals in particular are especially relevant: - Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education and - Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women Given that gender equality and the empowerment of women are at the core of the MDGs, along with the fact they are paramount if we are to overcome poverty, hunger and disease by 2015, these are definitely pressing issues for all southern African countries elected and aspiring politicians.

When it comes to schooling, disparities in tertiary education do not end at enrolment but are also seen in the area of study. Women are overrepresented in the humanities and social sciences - and underrepresented in science and technology.

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This illustrates a reinforcement of socio-biological stereotypes which ensure women do not stray too far from their feminine household roles, where they are supposed to be nurturing and non-competitive.

We see this in the labour sector as well. One example is the 2009 Gender Links Glass Ceilings: Women and Men in Southern African Media (please see suggested reading section) study, which found that stereotyping is common in media houses across the region. Women journalists are given softer reporting beats such as lifestyle, gender and health while male journalists work hard investigative beats such as politics or economics.

Employment-wise, in sub-Saharan Africa women occupy just one in three paid jobs outside agriculture, and it comes as no surprise that women are typically paid less than their male counterparts and have less secure employment.

Despite this, there is an increase in women entering the labour force throughout their child-bearing years, finding ways to juggle the pressures of their unpaid family work and paid employment. Time will only tell what impact this has on the regional Women perform economy and malemore unpaid work female relations.

Women perform more than men, leaving unpaid work than men, them “time poor” leaving them “time with less sleep and poor” with less sleep leisure time. and leisure time. The burden of combining the “traditional” work of a mother and wife and the paid work of the labour market inevitably impacts the level of participation possible for women, as well as their access to decent work.

The 2009 research report Global Trends in Women’s Access to “Decent Work” notes that job security and occupational safety and pay do not automatically improve for women as employment increases. In fact, it may get worse as women are more vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous employers.

Limited men’s participation in unpaid care work and child care is another hindrance to women’s access to good employment opportunities. In addition, high levels of gender-based violence persist in South Africa, which is both a cause and consequence of poverty.

It is clear much more needs to be said and done if we are to achieve the MDG’s goals and facilitate women’s access to education, training and full employment and decent work by 2015.

Sisters need some support so they can do it for themselves.

Doreen Gaura is a gender activist and writer based in Cape Town. This article is part of the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary series on South Africa’s local government elections.

Rape - perspectives and realities

By Fungai Machirori

Where would you go for assistance if you were a rape survivor?

This was the question posed to a diverse group of Zimbabweans in Harare recently. What should have yielded simple answers instead drew blank stares, confused mumbles - and finally, the admission from all but one that they weren’t aware of any existing services in the city.

“I have never really thought about it before, but I suppose rape survivors could go to the police station,” suggested Batisari Chigama, an arts coordinator.

Zimbabwean police stations are equipped with Victim Friendly Units (VFUs) where trained personnel are able to provide assistance dealing with sensitive issues such as rape, sexual violence and HIV and AIDS.

But there is hope Centres such as the Adult Rape Clinic (ARC) in Harare are providing rape survivors with services that include medical examinations, HIV counselling and testing, emergency contraceptives (ECP), postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). ARC also collects forensic evidence and fills out medical affidavits for use in criminal investigations.

The medical journal PLoS Medicine reported that Zimbabwe’s HIV epidemic had almost been halved in the past several years, a huge success in a region of mostly bad news when it comes to HIV and AIDS.

ARC saw more than 450 rape survivors between March 2009, when it opened its doors, and mid-2010.

It is the only such centre for adult rape survivors (16 years and above) in Harare.

So perhaps quite startling was the fact that of those consulted - seven in total - only one could confirm that there was a way of avoiding contracting HIV if a person has been raped by someone who is HIV-positive.

Thus far, its clients have largely been female, with only three males having visited the centre for postrape assistance by 2010.

“Once you have been raped, there is no hope left for you,” stated Nobert Zhuwao, a cell phone credit vendor. “It (HIV) will have caught you.”

In what is already a feminised epidemic (In 2009 UNAIDS estimated that 60% of HIV-positive Zimbabweans are female), rape puts more Zimbabwean women at risk of contracting the virus.

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The majority (two-thirds) of ARC’s rape cases are committed by a partner or relative; commonly known as acquaintance rape.

Statistics from ARC showed that 70% of survivors who visited the clinic were females in the 17-25 age bracket, one of the most vulnerable age groups to HIV infection.

Overall, one in ten clients seen by ARC tests positive for HIV.

The majority (two-thirds) of ARC’s rape cases are committed by a partner or relative; commonly known as acquaintance rape.

The challenge with reporting this type of rape is that women face physical and social stigma - they are often disowned or abused by family, for instance when they do speak up.

“It would be much easier to mobilise help for survivors of rape if the majority of Zimbabweans believed that the injured party is not to blame,” observed marketing consultant Tafadzwa Dihwa. “Our conservative attitude to taboo subjects is very wrong.”

It would be much easier to mobilise help for survivors of rape if the majority of Zimbabweans believed that the injured party is not to blame...

Our conservative attitude to taboo subjects is very wrong.

Anesu Katere, a former teacher, noted the contribution of culture to rape and sexual violence in Zimbabwe. “At times, our culture extenuates rape. Just think of chiramu and how a husband nowadays can fondle the breasts of his wife’s sister. That’s criminal!” Traditionally, chiramu refers to the goodwill expressed between a man and the relatives of his wife. The man may take to playfully calling his wife’s younger sister his second wife. But this goodwill can be abused and a man may sexually harass the woman in the belief that he is entitled to her body since she is the “other” wife.

Views, though, were mixed when it came to sexual assault.

Primrose Mukumba, a vendor at a Harare flea market believes there is no such thing as rape within marriage.

“A woman is meant to fulfil all of her husband’s desires, even when she doesn’t feel like it,” she said.

This belief was cited by the Musasa Project, an NGO providing support to survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), as a deterrent to women accessing their services.

“Unfortunately, most married women do not perceive it as rape,” said Musasa Project Executive Director Netty Musanhu. “They will just talk about the consequences of the incident, for example contracting HIV. It’s only when you explore further how they got the virus that they then say that their husbands forced themselves onto them. That’s when you realise that they have been raped.”

The blame debate spills over into the role that provocative attire plays in precipitating rape “She’s showing the men a sign about what she’s come for,” exclaimed Zhuwao when asked about what he thought of women who visit bars in miniskirts. “Men are visual and are easily excited. And in a bar where there is alcohol and drugs, a woman must know that!”

Zhuwao’s friend, Harmony Savanhu, added that in a state of sexual stimulation a man could not be held responsible for his actions. “If we’ve decided to have sex and the girl changes her mind at the last minute, then she’s wrong,” said Savanhu. When it’s up (the penis), it’s ready!”

His comments were met with roaring laughter and cheers by the group of men congregated to listen in on our interview.

While southern Africa continues to make progress in bringing down regional HIV prevalence, it is popular notions around gender and culture that continue to drive the epidemic.

Clearly, more work still needs to be done.

Fungai Machirori is a Zimbabwean journalist. This article is part of the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service, bringing you fresh views on everyday news.

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What to do when you have been assaulted or raped Tips for survivors of rape and sexual violence and suggested approaches, useful steps and guidelines for medical professionals in southern African countries. These tips have been expanded from the last edition of this newsletter.

Compiled by Yngve Sjolund

Please

share the following recommendations with your local NGOs, CBOs, municipalities, hospitals, clinics, churches, care workers, health providers and personnel in your local police station.

If you are a survivor of a sexual offence, you should report the sexual offence to the police or a health care professional, preferably as soon as possible after the act of sexual violence was committed against you or within 72 hours (three days) of the assault.

You will be required to make a statement including details on your identity when you report the offence, including, if possible - details on the identity of the perpetrator of the sexual offence and details of the actual criminal offence that was committed against you. This statement will be used by the court if the case goes to court. You must ensure that all the information in your statement is exactly what you experienced and is true and correct.

The survivor must be offered a range of services including counselling, treatment for sexually transmitted infections including, HIV treatment for physical injuries, pregnancy risk evaluation and prevention treatment and other infectious disease treatment and prevention.

Medical Examination If you have experienced a sexual offence you should go for a medical examination done by a healthcare professional as soon as possible after the offence has been committed. The results of the medical examination are very important as they will be used as evidence during the court proceedings which may take place at a later stage.

Do not bath or wash yourself after the sexual offence as that will remove important physical evidence of the sexual offence from your body that could be picked up in the medical examination and can be used during the court proceedings in support of your case.

The health care establishment must deal with any report of a sexual offence as follows: - If the survivor is hesitant about reporting the sexual offence, the health care professional should address the survivor’s fears and concerns.

- In instances where the survivor does not want to report the sexual offence to the police, there is no legal duty on the health care professional to report a sexual offence if the survivor is an adult - unless the survivor is mentally disabled or is an older person in need of care.

- The survivor must be encouraged to report the sexual offence within 24 hours of the commission of the offence.

- The survivor must be provided with postexposure proptylaxis (PEP) to avoid HIV transmission if HIV negative. The survivor must be referred for counselling service pre and post receiving PEP. - The survivor should be encouraged to allow the health care professional to

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collect medical evidence to be kept at the health establishment in case the survivor decides to report the sexual offence at a later stage. The survivor must be informed that the evidence will be kept for a period of six weeks and that she or he will ensure that it is properly secured.

- The information in the forms and records can only be disclosed to the investigating officer and the relevant Department of Justice. This information can only be given to the offender’s legal representative if the court orders for the information to be disclosed to her or him.

- The survivor’s right to decide on whether to report the sexual offence or to undergo a medical examination must be respected.

- The transfer of forensic or medical evidence from one official to another must be confirmed by signature or a statement by the official receiving the evidence. Failure to do so can result in the evidence not being admitted in court.

Where the survivor is referred by the police or where she/he indicates that they would like to report the offence to the police for the investigation and prosecution of a sexual offences, the following procedure must be followed by a health care professional: - The sexual assault evidence collection kit must be used when conducting a medical examination in sexual offence cases.

- A consent form must be completed before the medical examination is conducted.

- The complete medical history of the survivor must be taken.

- The examination must be performed by a skilled and experienced forensic health care professional.

- The forensic health care professional must complete the required forms and records.

- Forensic or medical evidence must be collected immediately after the medical examination is completed.

Mismanagement of the evidence can result in the evidence not being admitted in court.

- Emergency treatment must be prioritised over the medical examination.

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- The forensic health care professional can give expert evidence in court. Both doctors and nurses can give expert evidence in court.

IMPORTANT: A medical examination of the suspect may also be ordered if it is necessary for the investigation of the case. The investigating officer must ensure that such examination is carried out properly. An HIV test of the alleged offender may be ordered if the survivor, a person with an interest in the well-being of the survivor or the investigating officer requests one. The investigating officer is responsible for taking all the required steps to make the application and to see it through till the court makes a decision on the application.

Only Station Commissioners or individuals appointed by the Station Commissioner who occupy the rank of Captain or higher may discontinue an investigation and close a docket. In order to close a docket, the police must ensure that the investigating officer has made all possible efforts to trace the survivor or offender.

Follow up procedures, legislations and sexual offences acts may vary by SADC country and local laws and regulations must be checked with a local lawyer or legal advisor.

INTERSEXIONS FEATURE

Q&A with Frank Malaba, actor featured in Interxesions Episode15 “I think Intersexions is a very relevant TV show to our generation in the sense that in there we saw ourselves, we saw our mothers and we saw our sisters, and our aunts and our children ... the way that they’ve been exposed to HIV in a way that’s never been shown in the history of television on this continent.”

Frank Malaba

Intersexions is a unique episodic drama series with 25 interrelated stand-alone episodes that follow the HIV infection chain. It is a series sponsored

by Johns Hopkins Health and Education in South Africa.

Although Intersexions did not present itself as an overtly HIV and AIDS drama series, it did look at the lives and loves of those infected and affected by HIV, as well as the circumstances of their contracting the virus and the relationships in their lives. Each stand-alone episode took the audience closer and closer to understanding the interconnectedness of our sexual networks Yngve Sjolund recently interviewed Frank Malaba about the role he portrayed in the popular television series.

Yngve Sjolund: “We’re talking about your role in Intersexions - and a lot of people will be surprised to know that you’re gay - as you play a straight male and you’ve got quite a female following from that.

But you’ve also been an actor in Zimbabwe; explain the role you played as the doctor and the cultural implications that the story told?”

Frank Malaba: “In that story I played a straight man as well who was married to a woman and they could not have children. Because of the family from his father’s side, he had to bring in a grandson so he ended up meeting a prostitute in a bar; she came back saying she’s pregnant.

There were a lot of repercussions and it did turn out that he was sterile and the prostitute was pregnant with his brother’s son. So that was a very interesting way to show how culture can be responsible for some irresponsible behaviour in African males, if I’m allowed to speak for the African male!”

YS: “And what about the grandson, having to be brought into the family, the responsibility on males to fulfil a stereotype?”

FM: “I think as far as the film was concerned, the child became a background story, in the sense that the baby then became accepted into the family. It didn’t matter how the child had come in but my character then became treated as a ‘second class’ person in the family, if I can use that term. And his brother who had been absent all this time - and only appeared after the pregnancy tests had happened - became more of a forefront person within the family. My character had to fight for his way back and reclaim his manhood even though he was sterile.”

YS: “In the Intersexions series viewers are introduced to a different character or set of characters in each episode – characters that are connected and interlinked as a sexual network.

What impact does a television show like this have on behavioural change and making people understand sexuality, sexual networks and responsible behaviour? Do you think people identify with the characters in the show? And can they apply practical things in their own lives against HIV?” FM: “I think Intersexions is a very relevant TV show to our generation in the sense that in there we saw ourselves, we saw our mothers and we saw our sisters, and our aunts and our children, the way that they’ve been exposed to HIV in a way that’s never been shown in the history of television in this continent. For me playing a role in there I actually got a little bit of a window to see how my role as an actor had an impact on society, people were quite impressed that the character I played didn’t actually have any sex scenes, didn’t actually sleep with anyone but we drove a point home and the point that was driven home was absent fathers and how an

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absent father could affect the life of his son and my character also intersected (to steal from the name of the show) with a truck driver who happened to be a carrier of HIV, who had up to about eight girlfriends he’d passed the virus onto. So they showed two absent fathers within my episode: one who’d cheated on his wife before (that was my character) but was living a responsible life and another who continued being absent even though he had all these women and children he was supporting.

Just from that little window of my episode, one of the two episodes that I did, I did see how the show had an effect. Facebook was an amazing place for me to go take a look and see how people felt about the different episodes.”

YS: “INTERSEXIONS definitely represented the diversity and reality of many people living in South Africa and in the region. When you said earlier it speaks to “our generation”, who is our generation, can you define that? And issues like absent fathers was one of the things you mentioned, what are the others issues that affect our generation?”

FM: “When I said ‘our generation’ I was talking about anyone that’s living right now, between the ages of 16 and 80 - because contrary to what most people think, they think we are all packed into little boxes and the things we deal with are different. Yes there’s an element of truth in that but when it comes to HIV - it does not discriminate on anyone - so when I speak of our generation, I speak of everybody within that bracket, who would’ve had the mental capacity to understand where the story was going or what issues were being addressed in the show”.

Q&A with Professor Elna McIntosh (Sexologist) on HIV transmission and discordant couples Professor McIntosh is a Sexual Health Care Practitioner, Medical Director of the DISA Health Care Clinic, sex-educator, researcher, author and media personality with 25 years experience. She has a weekly radio talk show on KAYA FM. With a co-host, she tackles sexual health topics on the ‘What’s Your Take’ show. She is also the Intersexions Facebook Moderator. Joining her was Errida Madoa, also an actress on Intersexions.

Professor Elna Mclntosh

Yngve

Sjolund recently spoke to them about feedback and general comments, misconceptions, myths and issues arising from the public around the show and feedback from the actors.

Yngve Sjolund: It is interesting that the Intersexions series gave a ‘voice’ and ‘face’ to HIV and people living with HIV – and that the show created renewed public interest in understanding modes of HIV transmission. What where some of the common misconceptions during the season?

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Prof Elna McIntosh: There is still a lot of confusion around HIV transmissions because there was still a lot of confusion around the question of HIV transmission amongst discordant couples - where the one is negative and the other is positive. A lot of people seem to think that if you’re having sex with an HIV positive person there’s a 100% chance of contracting HIV. People also ask “if the father’s HIV positive and the mother’s HIV negative how come the baby’s HIV negative?” – or - “if the mother’s positive how does the mother end up with a negative child?” - so people still don’t understand

that transmission will be from the mother to the child.

So maybe we haven’t addressed or educated people enough about those issues.

Yngve Sjolund: There is a lot of awareness around PMCT, and people are becoming aware that you can have a negative baby - but say you have sex with your partner once, and you’re positive and she’s negative. During this one encounter can she get infected with HIV and get pregnant or not get infected and not get pregnant?

Prof Elna McIntosh: Well it could be all of them - or none of them - because it’s also not a given that you’ll get HIV from one encounter and it’s also not a given that you’ll get pregnant from one encounter. However you can get HIV and become pregnant just from a once-off sexual encounter.

Yngve Sjolund: Can we ever stop using condoms?

Prof Elna McIntosh: No. If we look at what happened to the characters in Intersexions - we are looking at committed couples, where the Indian man is married to the Indian woman, but the lady who’s trying to advance her career is in a committed relationship with somebody else as well but her partner is busy having sex with the girl who’s staying in the house with them. So we’re actually looking at all ‘supposedly committed relationships’, and in fact, these people in their committed relationships are not monogamous.

Yngve Sjolund: In studies with gay men they found higher HIV transmissions amongst committed gay couples who don’t negotiate extra-marital affairs outside of that relationship - so there’s a false sense of security. Is there a notable incidence of higher HIV transmission amongst committed couples than with singles who as routine practice may always carry condoms around with them?

Yngve Sjolund: At the season finale most people were chilled by and scared because of the way HIV ‘came alive’ and real - and many viewers have mentioned that they where ‘scared back to safer sex practices’. In the early days of HIV messaging campaigns where based around fear (of dying from AIDS). Do you think fear is a way to tell people to be safe? And secondly, can you tell our readers more about sexual networks?

Prof Elna McIntosh: Listen here - it’s been proven that it doesn’t work if you use fear and scary tactics - because it may have an immediate impact on everyone watching.

But the minute the show’s over and people get back to real life - they forget. But I don’t think the whole idea was to scare people, for me it was about information and entertainment. And that’s why I think it was so successful - because we could all relate somewhere. Most people would find something they could relate to in some episode.

This was proven for me on Facebook. One person would comment and say; “Oh, that was so boring!” And the next person would say; “I was abused by my school teacher.”

The viewing public could personally relate to a lot of the themes: ‘gay relationships, the older woman with the young man’. People could relate and it was great to see the different cultures, colours and lifestyles.

Errida Madoda: With the last episode people ..people stop realised that you cannot always try and put a face using condoms to HIV, in the show HIV in a relationship infected and affected all because they’re these different people. living under a And that you can’t tell just false sense of by looking at someone security. whether they’re HIV positive or negative.

People don’t like the idea of using a condom, ladies are too scared to initiate condom use - or refute a male’s refusal to use a condom - and people stop using condoms in a relationship because they’re living under a false sense of security.

People only get tested in the beginning of a relationship.

Prof Elna McIntosh: It’s far easier to negotiate safer sex if you’re single and if you’re having a one night stand - so it’s no big deal. What we see at the start of relationships is that people do use condoms and then a few weeks down the line, the discussion that takes place is usually something like: “We’re not seeing anybody else” - and so they stop using condoms.

Yngve Sjolund: The show did put a face to HIV and gave the virus a voice. While you were moderating the Facebook page, what came up the most?

Errida Madoda: Then it becomes a whole ‘trust’ issue should you want to introduce condoms again later on in the relationship.

Prof Elna McIntosh: I think the ignorance amongst people about how the virus is transmitted, because often there would be such blunders. People would write it there and

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someone else would say “really is that true?” Especially the episode with the Sangoma; with the traditional medicine.

People were saying “...but I know there’s this one, someone on your story wrote a whole big story about how you can cure this virus (using traditional medicine). Did you see that?” I mean that is really, really scary. I mean the way it was written and so sometimes people can be very convincing writing things they sow a few words in lisvke white blood cells and people assume that’s a fact. There’s still a lot of confusion around discordant couples, how the virus is transmitted from mother to child, if the dad is positive, how come the mother can be negative and what’s the baby going to be.

Errida Madoda: It’s definitely would be with substance use, people become relaxed and they let go of their inhibitions and fall into a false sense of security and let their guard down.

Errida Madoda: Like in the episode where we find out that the character Mandisa’s been negative, I myself didn’t understand how it is she’d stayed negative, while her partner was positive (they were expecting a child), people on Facebook and Justcurious.co.za also didn’t understand it.

Yngve Sjolund: Can you explain what sexual Networks are? There was that one degree of separation and the calculation? And also on Facebook, did you see people speaking out and starting to talk about sexuality and issues around sex? Which I think is a new phenomenon, I think all the social media Intersexions used involved the public in interacting with and responding to issues that affect them as well, things that are hush hush (swept under the carpet in the past)

Prof Elna McIntosh: I don’t think there are enough People in South examples of discordant Africa don’t couples, I mean we all know come out and about Magic Johnson and say we’re a his wife but that’s American discordant and too far away, we don’t couple. That’s know who Magic Johnson what we need, public examples is. People in South Africa don’t come out and say of discordant we’re a discordant couple. couples or That’s what we need, public people who just examples of discordant speak out. couples or people who just speak out. And I think it was nicely explained in the last episode, that sometimes it just happens and we don’t know why. I think it was brilliant the way the virus spoke, it made a big impact having the virus speak in the first person.

Yngve Sjolund: When the virus narrated in that spooky, ‘grim reaper’, voice he seemed to prey on people’s weaknesses when they were drinking or in love. What are some of the weaknesses where people let down their guard and don’t practise safe sex? If the virus was evil, what in human nature gives him the gap to spread the virus?

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Prof Elna McIntosh: I think that episode with the very drunk girl and the very drunk chef, so many people could relate to it because he’s the good boy where she’s the bad girl (always smoking). In her own mind she thinks she’s not at risk sleeping with her friend’s fiancé. I think a lot of people could relate to that because we’ve all drank too much, had a one night stand and woken up the next day and gone who are you?

Prof Elna McIntosh: I think with the Facebook page, for the first time people had a platform to speak. Sometimes they’d just give a random comment, but more questions would follow and they’d want to know about testicular cancer, anal sex etcetera. We ended up with 19,000 people on the INTERSEXIONS Facebook page, showing that it became a huge platform for people to interact on. It was interesting, there’s always a little community people would form and chat to one another. Where else can people find information? And I think that’s the biggest thing in this country, yes we all know for HIV prevention, wear a condom, but it’s the other stuff; a typical question was, “Can I get pregnant from oral sex?”

That is not a stupid question, we always assume that everyone has learnt biology and some people don’t and so, if you’re 16 years old who do you ask? I think that’s fantastic about Facebook, you can ask and somebody will answer your question for you.

NEWS FROM AFRICA

Burundian men empower women Working with Abatangamuco – “those who bring light where there is darkness.”

For a long time, Merthus Ntahobakuriye did not think much of being drunk daily or refusing to help out with household chores. He sold the little his family had to maintain his drinking habit.

“Whenever my wife went to work in the field, she would come back to find that I had sold everything I could lay my hands on. One day she got a goat from her family; I couldn’t resist selling even this one,” the 53-year-old Ntahobakuriye told a meeting of women leaders in the commune of Mutimbuzi, BujumburaRurale Province, which surrounds the Burundian capital, Bujumbura.

Ntahobakuriye is one of dozens of men known as Abatangamuco - in Kirundi: “those who bring light where there is darkness”.

They are identified by the community and, with the help of international NGO Care help empower women by raising men’s awareness of gender-based violence and other practices which denigrate women.

Michelle Carter, head of Care Burundi, says: “One of our biggest successes in Burundi has been the Abatangamuco - these men are revolutionaries, going against tradition and supporting women. It starts off with stopping the beating at home, and now some of these women are in political office. The challenge is the country needs more Abantagamuco and empowered women.”

Care runs women empowerment programmes in several provinces, focusing on psycho-social wellbeing; legal and cultural empowerment; and maternal health.

The Abatangamuco programme, according to Nicedore Nkurunziza of Care Burundi, was established two years ago to empower women by getting reformed men to testify before the community, and in the process get more men to emulate their changed behaviour.

Women leaders in Mutimbuzi commune, Bujumbura-Rurale Province in Burundi. (Image: Jane Some, Irin News)

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“This approach is interesting because it gets men to know that they can change their ways,” she said. “Even the Government has found this approach useful and sometimes calls on the Abatangamuco to testify on social issues such as marriage and what it entails.”

A turn for the better For Ntahobakuriye, life took a turn for the better when he heard one of these reformed men, from another commune, tell his story.

“It was as if he was recounting my life. As a consequence of my actions, my wife was depressed and suicidal, my children didn’t go to school as I could not raise school fees and I realised I was starting to be adulterous,” Ntahobakuriye said.

“Moreover, as I had not legalised my marriage, my wife became very insecure. Then Care came to our village and a Mutangamuco started sensitising us. From then on, I started changing; the drinking decreased and I started helping my wife with chores.

“As I had sold everything, we were sleeping on the floor, but this changed soon thereafter. We started raising goats and soon enough we built a new house, as the one we were living in was leaking badly. I got the children enrolled in school. Eventually, I became a Mutangamuco after the community verified that I had, indeed, reformed.”

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More women elected Thousands of women from 290 solidarity groups have benefited from Care’s Abatangamuco programme - as well as another on leadership, known as the Women Empowerment Programme, which helped get hundreds of women elected in local elections held country-wide in the middle of the year.

Of the 35,000 candidates who presented their credentials for local elections in Bujumbura-Rurale Province in May, 8,000 were women, according to Care.

The organisation contributed to the implementation of a national strategy to mobilise women to participate in the electoral process in accordance with Burundi’s constitution, which provides for 30% of seats going to women.

Odette Ntirampeba, who was elected in Kinyinya Hill, Rukarama Zone, said the empowerment programme enabled many women to get elected because they were trained in uniting for a common cause.

“We learnt, through training, that women can elect other women; we know that women often number more than men and they are the ones who turn out to vote, so why were we letting men defeat us?”

Ntirampeba said.

“At our hill, we had five women contestants against 20 men; the men had money and we didn’t, but thanks to Care’s programme most of the women got elected because women voters were united behind them.”

Students take action to end gender violence on campus

By Moses Magadza

Young women in Namibia protesting against GBV

WINDHOEK. University of Namibia (UNAM) students are participating in a range of activities to create awareness on the need to stamp out gender-based violence after research showed that the problem - which has become an acknowledged social challenge in the country - exists at their institution.

Lucy Edwards, one of two UNAM lecturers who led the research, said that gender-based violence had lately been rearing its ugly head in various forms at the University and that both male and female students were taking a stand against it.

Edwards said recent research had shown that the biggest problem was with taxi drivers who allegedly grope and pull female students inappropriately, trying to force them into their taxis.

She quoted some students as saying the harassment at the taxi rank happened under the noses of security guards employed by the university who allegedly told

the students that they were only there to secure the university’s assets, not the students’ personal security.

“There is physical coercion by some taxi drivers,” said Edwards, who teaches Sociology, adding that there were also reports of some male and female students cohabiting in hostel rooms as live-in lovers in violation of university regulations.

“The female students in these arrangements are expected to cook and clean for the men and there are levels of gender-based violence among students in the hostels.

There is a high level of tolerance of that violence within those hostels. A male student can beat up his co-habiting partner and other students would just walk past because they see that as a domestic affair.

“The problem of co-habiting is such that some male students have moved into female hostels and other female students feel insecure when they wake up and find men wandering about or in their toilets.”

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GBV were reported during the same year. A recent demographic health survey showed that 41% of men and 32% of women felt that it was absolutely fine for men to beat their wives or girlfriends.

Young women in Namibia protesting against GBV in chains and silence - a silence call for “Protectors” of young women on International Women’s Day

These claims have surfaced at the same time as Namibia walked away with three awards at the second annual Gender Links Gender Justice and Local Government Summit in Johannesburg. The Summit celebrates local-level initiatives to combat genderbased violence.

The research that shed light on allegations of genderbased violence at UNAM is part of a broader project looking at sexual and reproductive rights among students on campus.

Gender-based violence is a big social problem in Namibia and Edwards said what was happening at UNAM was reflective of certain attitudes within society.

“We shouldn’t be ashamed to deal with it. This is a social problem and President Hifikepunye Pohamba has asked all people in society and all institutions to take up the issue. We need to educate people and are planning to hold a workshop with the taxi drivers and work with men.”

Within the wider Namibian society domestic violence, rape and other forms of GBV have been reported with monotonous regularity. The police estimate that more than 1,500 cases of rape or attempted rape were reported in 2009 alone, while 11,900 cases of

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The Government of Namibia has shown its concern over gender-based violence through the enactment of various laws and policies related to the occurrence. These include the Namibian Constitution; the Combating of Domestic Violence Act; the Combating of Rape Act; the Married Person’s Equality Act; the Maintenance Act; the National Database on Gender Based Violence; and the National Advisory Committee on Gender Based Violence.

Namibia has also ratified international and national instruments that include the Beijing Platform for Action, the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development and the Addendum on the Prevention and Eradication of Violence against Women and Children. However, the problem of GBV still persists and is seen as acceptable by many, which may suggest that a new plan of action is needed.

The research conducted by Edwards and her colleague is collaboration between five universities in southern Africa and the African Gender Institute. UNAM has held panel discussions, drama presentations and organised a march against GBV on Women’s Day 2011 to raise awareness.

“We don’t have to wait for someone to be murdered to take action. We must consistently act against GBV at all levels: at home, school, places of work and so on,” said Edwards.

During orientation at the start of this academic year, UNAM students ran a campaign: “Thumbs down for gender-based violence”.

Some students who took part said it was an interesting and innovative way of raising awareness. Let’s hope their leaders are paying attention.

Suggested Reading SAfAIDS Our Children, Our Future.

Zimbabwean Good Practices Responding To The Needs Of Orphans And Vulnerable Children Published in 2010, this Good Practice report represents part of a SAfAIDS project implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Services (MoLSS), which documents Good Practices in OVC programming in Zimbabwe.

The goal of the project is to scale-up information generation and dissemination and thereby encourage the replication of Good Practices in the care and support of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Zimbabwe. The two programmes, coined as Good Practices, and documented in this report are Africaid’s Zvandiri Programme – Providing Psychosocial Support to Children and Adolescents Living with HIV; and Kapnek Trust’s – Early Childhood Development (ECDs) Centres.

Gender Links The Glass Ceilings: Women and Men in Southern African Media This is a comprehensive audit of women and men in southern African media houses. Spanning 14 countries over a year starting in July 2008, the research covered media houses (as opposed to newsrooms) in Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

This study, presents the data and findings from 126 media houses (approximately half of all media houses) in 14 of the 15 SADC countries, representing 23,678 employees.

Sonke Gender Justice Traditional leaders wield the power, and they are almost all men: The Importance of Involving Traditional Leaders in Gender Transformation In African societies, the sphere of influence of traditional leaders continues to be strong, especially in rural areas. As heads of their communities, traditional leaders are key decision makers and custodians of tradition, culture and rites. Civil society organisations have realized that if they want to tackle important social issues such as HIV, gender equality, violence or crime in rural communities, they have to get traditional leadership on board, as a gateway to the people within the communities they want to reach. A number of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), including South African Sonke Gender Justice Network, Ubuntu Institute, CARE International and Zambian Women For Change (WFC), work with traditional leaders on the continent to address gender-based violence, promote gender equality and reduce HIV in their communities.

SAfAIDS Turning the Tide on Gender Based Violence: Best Practices of Organisations Applying the Changing the River’s Flow Model in Southern Africa

The content iin this bookk highlights best practices Th hi b of community programmes supported by SAfAIDS between 2009 and 2011 in five of the nine countries where the ‘Changing the River’s Flow’ model (which addresses the critical link between HIV, GBV and culture) is being applied. This best practice book highlights the work of nine organisations in Mozambique (Muleidi and OMES), Namibia (ACT and NWHN), South Africa (GAPA), Swaziland (SWANNEPHA and NATICC), and Zimbabwe (Padare/Enkundleni Men’s Forum on Gender and Women’s Action Group) which are implementing the programme. It is hoped that the information on processes, strategies and counter-strategies provided will encourage and support other organisations as they implement similar initiatives in other communities, with the ultimate aim of turning the tide of the HIV epidemic, through the culture lens, as we achieve reductions in incidences of gender-based violence.

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INSPIRATION

Celebrating heritage with dance

By Janine Erasmus

Dance, both contemporary and indigenous, has long been an important means of personal and artistic expression in Africa. Dance plays a central role in story-telling, ceremonial practices, recreation and socialisation, improvisation, and community sharing.

Indigenous dance in South Africa The advent of democracy has inspired a wealth of creative expression, with a surge of new dance, several productions of which, such as Umoja, have gone on to take the world by storm, and a resurgence of traditional dance.

The four-day Zulu Royal Reed Dance festival, or Umkhosi woMhlanga, held each year in early September, sees thousands of young Zulu maidens coming together to celebrate their preparation for womanhood. Because only virgins are allowed to participate, and it is a huge honour to be selected, the event promotes purity among young girls and respect for women in the region. The event attracts tourists from all over the world. The Swazi people have a similar tradition.

During the years of oppression by the apartheid government people in townships kept their spirits up with the energetic township jive. In those days, and still today, the toyi-toyi – the militant yet mostly nonviolent dance of protest that features high-stepping movements – was often accompanied by the chanting of slogans and fists waved enthusiastically in the air.

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Gumboot dancing, or isicathulo, was born out of the hardships of working in the mines. It is said that miners, forced into silence by their oppressive bosses, used to communicate with each other through stamping their feet, rattling their ankle chains and slapping their boots, in essence creating their own Morse Code.

Afrikaans South Africans enjoy a social dance known as the sokkie, a word that hints at the fact that dancers sometimes do not wear shoes. Sokkie music is one of the best-selling genres in the local industry.

Even former president Nelson Mandela has made his mark on South Africa’s dance scene, with the familiar Madiba shuffle or Madiba jive which involves a gentle marching action of the arms.

Other styles such as Indian dancing, both classical and contemporary, the Venda tshigombela which is usually performed by married women, and the trance dance, performed as a healing exercise by the San people of the Kalahari desert, are testament to the colourful and diverse history of dance in South Africa and the important role it has played in our heritage.

National pride and reconciliation Since South Africa is a cosmopolitan society where many cultures come together and overlap, heritage is also used to foster interest in traditions and practices outside of one’s own cultural comfort zone.

According to the National Heritage Resources Act of 1999, “heritage celebrates our achievements and contributes to redressing past inequities. It educates, it deepens our understanding of society and encourages us to empathise with the experience of others. It facilitates healing and material and symbolic restitution and it promotes new and previously neglected research into our rich oral traditions and customs.”

This article has been adapted from a longer article by Janine Erasmus, Deputy Editor at Big Media. She works on a project called MediaClub South Africa, which her organisation produces and maintains for the International Marketing Council of South Africa.

NEWS BITE

Zambia ushers in AntiGender Based Violence Act In April this year, Zambia passed the AntiGender Based Violence (GBV) Act into law.

Moving the motion for the GBV Bill during its second reading in Parliament earlier in the year, Vice President George Kunda said the Bill would seek to introduce legislation that would provide effective protection for victims of GBV committed in public or private life, which protection was not provided for in the statute book.

Mr. Kunda said that the GBV Bill would provide an opportunity for victims of domestic violence, including children assisted by friends, to make complaints of GBV without fear of reprisals.

Gender based violence is a huge problem in Zambia, according to figures, one in five women have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives. Of all the forms of violence, spousal abuse/domestic violence was the highest form of abuse that was reported.

Encouragingly, Angola, this year’s host of the SADC Heads of State Summit, also passed a Domestic Violence Act earlier this year, bringing the total of Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries that have Domestic Violence Acts in place to 12.

Sources http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/goodlife/2011/04/12/ the-negative-effects-of-being-a-so-called-real-man April 12, 2011 Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service, bringing you fresh views on everyday news. http://allafrica.com/ stories/201102100319.html Please see: http://www.genderlinks.org.za www.hivandthelawsa.co.za Irin News http://www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com/index. php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2138:abat angamuco-100111&catid=47:africanews&Itemid=116#i xzz1JrghyCUQ http://www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com/index. php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2138:aba tangamuco-100111&catid=47:africanews&Itemid=116 http://thecitizen.co.tz/sunday-citizen/-/9793-namibiastudents-take-action-to-end-gender-violence-oncampus http://allafrica.com/namibia/ http://allafrica.com/stories/201102250453.html http://www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com/index. php?option=com_content&view=article&id=711: heritage030908&catid=43:culture_news&I temid =112#ixzz1Jrk3EFNH

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RESOURCES / LISTINGS / SERVICES

To access more information on HIV, GBV and Culture, contact the following Resource Centres in your respective countries: Angola-SCARJOV Sede: Estrada da Camama/Vianda (ao CALEMBA 2) Bairro da Paz - Kilamba Kiaxi P.O Box 3085 Luanda - Angola Tel 1: +244 912 368 535 Tel 2: +244 927 713 289 E-Mail: scarjov4@yahoo.com

Botswana-BONASO PO Box 3129 Plot 767, Tati Road, Extension 2 Gaborone, Botswana Tel: +267-3170582 / 3908490 Fax: +267-570582 E-Mail: bonaso@botsnet.bw

Lesotho-National AIDS Commission Maseru Sun Office Block Orpen Road P O Box 11232 Maseru 100 Lesotho Tel: +266 22326794 Fax: +266 2232 7210 E-mail: molekop@nas.org.ls Website: www. www.nac.org.ls

Malawi-MANASO Chitetezo House (City Boutique Building) Haile Selassie Road PO BOX 2916 Blantyre, Malawi Tel: +265 1 835046 +265 1 835018 Fax: +265 1 821984 E-mail: manaso@malawi.net Website: www.manaso.org

Malawi-Blantyre City Assembly Town Hall Civic Centre Private Bag 67 Blantyre Malawi Tel: +265 1 670 211

Namibia-NANASO PO Box 23281 Erf: 1011, 42-44 Ondoto Street, Okuryangava, Windhoek, Namibia.

Tel: +264 61 26 1122 Fax: +264 61 23 4198 E-Mail: nanaso@iafrica.com.na

Swaziland-NERCHA National HIV and AIDS Information Centre Lamvelase Premises Nkoseluhlaza St/ Sandlana St Manzini Swaziland Tel: +268 505 4597, 505 3313 Fax: +268 505 4425 E-mail: busi.dlamini@nercha.org.sz

Zambia-Afya Mzuri Joint Resource Centre Plot 10487B Manchinchi Road, Olympia Park, Lusaka.

Tel : +260 11 295124 / 295122 Fax : +260 11 295120 / 295124 Cell No. : +260 977 741223 / 966 249194 Email: resourcecentre@afyamzuri.org.zm Website: www.afyamzuri.org.zm

Zimbabwe-SAfAIDS 17 Beveridge Road Avondale Harare Zimbabwe Tel: +263 4 336193/4 Email: info@safaids.org.zw Website: www.safaids.net

Where to get help South Africa SOS Children’s Villages South Africa is a private, charitable, social development organisation which takes action for orphaned and abandoned children by building and strengthening families for them to live in and grow with love, security and respect. Eight to ten children are cared for in small family-type homes, the SOS families, and are raised like brothers and sisters. Go to info@sos.org.za to get more information about an SOS Children’s Village near you.

LifeLine Counselling Services Johannesburg provides a 24 hour confidential crisis intervention service available at no cost to all sectors of the community. A wide range of counselling services are offered throughout the greater Johannesburg area.

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Centres are located in Norwood, Johannesburg and Alexandra and Soweto. Centres offer additional specialized services including: face-to-face counselling by appointment, trauma debriefing, rape counselling, support groups and retrenchment counselling. Call the helpline on 011 7281347, or access the AIDS helpline on 0800 012322 Zimbabwe Musasa Project is a Zimbabwean non-governmental women’s human rights organisation that assists women survivors of domestic and sexual violence and women living with HIV. It provides services, including temporary shelter, food and counselling to 3,000 women per year.

Tel: +263-4-794983/706284/736245 Hotlines 263-772-100049/ 772-100050-2/ 772-100060-1