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10 December 2007

Programme director
Honourable members of the executive council
Honourable members of the legislature
Our honoured traditional leaders
Mayors and leaders in local government
Members of the business community
Directors-General and heads of department
Senior civil servants and officials
Members of civil society organisations
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentleman

Today is hailed as the day of accountability on the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign. The expectation is that all government departments, non-governmental organisations, organised business, organs of civil society and all stakeholders account about what has been done to date to stop the brutality of violence against women and children.

It is also instructive that this day falls on the "International Human Rights Day" because women and children's rights are human rights. The outcry in the country about 50/50 representation of men and women in decision-making structures echoes this very sentiment of promoting human rights for all people in South Africa.

In pursuance of the call made by the honourable President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Thabo Mbeki, we in the Eastern Cape Province are proceeding with the 365 days campaign in fulfilment of our commitment to end the abuse of women and children.

We will not eliminate the scourge of violence in our society until we address the root causes. Part of the fundamental causes relate to the unequal socioeconomic relations that exist between men and women in our society. Dependence by some women on men for economic resources is one of the causes of abuse. This is the reason why some women are reluctant to report violations on their human rights, resulting in a cycle of abuse. The provincial government has begun responding to the issue of gender equality as one strategy to fight gender-based violence, by doing the following:

* Launching of the Charlotte Maxeke Women's Development Fund, which has seen a number of women who have started their own enterprises.
* Launched Women in Taxi Industry in Alfred Nzo and OR Tambo Districts.
* Hosted boys and girls Indaba in provincial and district levels to empower the youth on constitutional values of equality, dignity and respect for human rights in promoting responsible citizenry.
* During the launch of the 16 Days campaign, government symbolically assigned 27 houses to survivors of violence and abuse to promote their independence.
* Thirty-nine schools identified as hotspots were given budget for installation of search lights.
* Intensive implementation of the Provincial Policy Framework for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment by all provincial government departments.

These are some efforts by government, and I ask what have you done to bring an end to violence against women and children? What does the community do when an elderly woman is being brutally attacked because she is alleged to be engaged in witchcraft?

We collectively fought against apartheid and defeated it. If we all do our part we will also end the scourge of violence in our society. As members of communities, townships, villages and suburbs, we must have the resolve that for 365 days we will not look away. We must pledge not be the silent accomplices who pretend that the violence happening in our families, communities and neighbourhoods does not exist.

* When will you report your neighbour who neglects children?
* When will you start supporting the survivor who was raped by the person we all know in our midst?
* When will you speak up against violence, and break the cycle of abuse that you are facing in your home?

These are simply acts that can go a long way in eliminating violence in our society. This is what government means by saying, Do Not Look Away – Act against violence in order to stop this plague. We must collectively ensure that perpetrators of violence face the full might of the criminal justice system. In this regard, government supports the Victims Charter, which outlines, for the first time, the rights of victims of crime. The Victims Charter places survivors of abuse at the centre of the criminal justice system by conferring rights that prevent unwitting secondary victimisation of survivors by the system that seeks to protect them. The duty is on service providers, such as police officers, prosecutors, interpreters, maintenance clerks and magistrates, to ensure that the seven rights contained in the Victims' Charter are observed.

In particular, the right to be treated with fairness, respect, dignity and privacy, the right to receive information, the right to protection and the right to assistance. There is huge need to strengthen the gender machinery to champion gender equality across many sectors, from families to workplaces and institutions of learning. The gender machinery should forge conscious partnerships with parents and all those in loco parentis positions such as teachers, preachers, community leaders to encourage deepened appreciation of our societal values as enshrined in our Constitution. It is time society engenders to both boy and girl children the constitutional values of mutual respect, equality and promotion of a human rights culture to truly break the cycle and eradicate violence in our society.

Influential members of the community including religious leaders, traditional leaders, parents, teachers, and all those who serve as role models for our children should engender appropriate community value systems and ethos. While it is encouraging to see that the National Men's Forum has become very active in our country. When we launched the 16 Days of Activism thousands of men took to marching in the streets of Lusikisiki to make a stand against violence. The number of men who speak out and stand against violence is still insufficient compared to the majority men perpetrators of violence. Democracy and the vision of the Freedom Charter depend on men and women who are empowered to defend the values equality, mutual respect, and the promotion of a human rights culture in our society. This is in fact what ubuntu in our African culture is all about.

I conclude by challenging all of us, both individually and collectively, to ask: what one constructive act have I done to end violence in my community? You can still do something. The 16 Days Campaign may be officially coming to its closure today. But the struggle to end violence and to promote equality for all continues.

I thank you.

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
10 December 2007
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.ecprov.gov.za)