THE SADC GENDER PROTOCOL SUMMIT 2014 MEDIA CONTENT Johannesburg Date27:05:14 Presentertamanda MATEBULE 50/50 BY 2015: DEMANDING A STRONG POST 2015 AGENDA

SYNOPSIS Brief description of my Entry – In summary my submission is about Gender Blindness in Legal Redress. This is a case study of worst form of domestic based violence I have come across in over a decade of my reporting where a woman-x-convict has had her child adopted away without her consent. – At the centre of this story is court ruling which condemned a wife to prison after she had run away from a habitual abusive husband and his relations. – However, in spite of the presiding Magistrate acknowledging that the wife was being buttered by her husband and her in laws, her ruling did not critically consider two important factors i.That the mother had a four-month child to care and breast-feed ii.That the woman run away from her home because of an abusive husband Why the Entry is a Good Practice – I feel this entry is good practice because it exposes loopholes in the Legal System and advocates for reform, especially when it comes to gender bias where women continue to be victims of circumstances – This submission is good practice because it brings to light the continued practice of GBV and that there is still work to be done regarding Gender-or-Domestic Based Violence and that the nation should not relax in pursuit of total respect and equality in administering social justice – Besides, this entry is good because it successfully brings to light grievous inefficiencies in government departments

GENDER AWARENESS RATING SCORE (1-10) The subject is either specifically about gender or one in which gender is mainstreamed. 8 Women and men (boys and girls) views are consulted equally and given equal weight. 6 The article/programme consults the views of those who make decisions as well as those affected. 7 Male and female sources are treated with dignity and respect. 10 The article/programme challenges gender stereotypes and embraces diversity. 10 The article/programme prompts gender awareness through informed public debate. 10 Relevant statistics are disaggregated by gender. 7 The article/programme takes a rights based approach. 10 The article/programme provides fresh views on every day news. 8 The article/programme is bold and courageous. 10 TOTAL 86 50/50 BY 2015: DEMANDING A STRONG POST 2015 AGENDA

BACKGROUND 50/50 BY 2015: DEMANDING A STRONG POST 2015 AGENDA Why I Pursued The Story  I pursued this story basically because of the diversity in its usualness i.e. i.The judicial sentence, which ignored the plight of a four-month breast fed child ii.The role of the same court to convict the women and live the man who had been habitually abusing his spouse  As a watchdog I pursued this story to expose existing loose-ends between in some policy guides and the application of the law  In this vein I pursued this entry to ignite debate which should lead into some form of affirmative action when it comes to issues of justice-administration of gender and child care issues  Over and above I pursued this story for the nation to appreciate that extreme cases of domestic based violence can lead to worst results like evidenced in this case-study where the wife was not only jailed but also lost her child through Adoption at the hands of a government department Context of The Entry  This entry was reported in context of the observance of Gender and Child care guideline which promotes the social welfare of women and children – I was convinced this protocol was ignored in all this  This submission was pursued to underline the existence and continued incidents of GBV years after the emergence of human rights institutions

TARGET AUDIENCE Both at inception and broadcast this entry hoped to reach-out to the civil society movement who often notice such lapses and call for redress The submission also hoped to advocate for reformative justice when dealing with offenders of GBV 50/50 BY 2015: DEMANDING A STRONG POST 2015 AGENDA Impact Widespread condemnation on the conduct of the Social Welfare Dept for adopting away the child Prior to the broadcast of this Entry the subject was not being granted access to meeting social welfare officers but the government department has now opened-up There has been some intervention from legal minds to ensure justice is re- administered Evidence of Impact The social welfare office has opened-up Calls for reformative justice system in form of review

PROCESS/METHODOLOGY Data Gathering – Generally I used one-one interviews – I also used secondary data from the courts in forms of judgements-or-rulings – I also used telephone interviews to engage other sources – Besides I used documentation from hospitals and prisons 50/50 BY 2015: DEMANDING A STRONG POST 2015 AGENDA Gender Sources Female four Male one Reason for choosing these sources I choose these sources because of their relevance Why their voices were important Primarily because they relate directly or indirectly to the story

RESULTS Use one slide for each result, include examples of evidence Service delivery The justice delivery system has been challenged to consider remedial sentences in dealing with such cases Women’s empowerment The project underlines the importance treating women in equal measure as men when it comes to issues of violation of rights Men for change The project challenges men to realise they are not any superior to women under the law Public participation It is evident through feedback and interest that has been generated that time has come for reform Any other changes It is also evident that through the interest generated there is likelihood of some change – it must be recognised though that this cannot be achieved overnight 50/50 BY 2015: DEMANDING A STRONG POST 2015 AGENDA

FEEDBACK Please provide any examples of feedback that you received? i.The most significant is the reaction by the social welfare office to open-up and engage the x- convict whom it has adopted-away her child ii.Child rights movements are piling pressure on the Social Welfare Dept. to declare its interest in the matter iii.Private law firm Knight and Knight has intervened and is pushing for redress iv.NGO – Centre for Victimised Women has intervened 50/50 BY 2015: DEMANDING A STRONG POST 2015 AGENDA

FOLLOW UP i.I intend to establish the destination of the child, which some lawyers and CSOs are also pushing for ii.I intend to pursue the debate further until some recognition in lapses have been recognised for redress 50/50 BY 2015: DEMANDING A STRONG POST 2015 AGENDA THANK YOU