ACTIVISM

IT’S TIME FOR INTENSE INTERVENTION

HERMIEN BOTES, head of sustainability engagement at Anglo American, says it’s time to rip off the plaster and address the real wounds of gender-based violence

As part of Mogalakwena Complex’s virtual event opposing GBV in honour of Mandela Day, contracting partner BME donated 100 food parcels to the Mahwelereng Victim Empowerment Centre. From left are: Mahwelereng Victim Empowerment Centre programme co-ordinator Dikeledi Mokonyane; BME manager Hendrik Mokunutu; and Mahwelereng SAPS’s Sergeant Caroline Sebata.

In the mining industry, physical injuries are visible, acknowledged and meticulously reported, and reduction targets are generally linked to pay schemes. Sexual harassment, however, generally goes undocumented – and often unseen. We don’t talk about it. We don’t admit that it happens. Yet all the research points to the fact that up to 70 per cent of women globally experience some form of sexual harassment at work.

Safety is the catchword in the mining sector, it’s part of a relentless drive towards zero harm. However, for females in the mining workforce (12 per cent), safety means more than just managing the risk of physical harm during operation, it also involves the invisible threat of sexual harassment and gender-based violence (GBV).

We need to talk about and address these issues with the same intensity that we do with occupational health and safety issues.

ANGLO AMERICAN’S GBV INITIATIVES

In 2019, we launched the Living with Dignity programme, which aims to combat GBV across our operations and host communities. It was launched to coincide with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence and includes a range of GBV interventions that aim to ensure safe spaces such as Safe Workplaces, Safe Homes, Safe Schools, Safe Communities.

The programme is run in collaboration with government, civil society partners and nongovernmental organisations. Recognising that the root causes of GBV are complex and related to deeply embedded beliefs of male superiority, we must, if we want to resolve GBV issues, include various partners from different sectors.

Anglo American’s inclusion and diversity (I&D) initiatives for employees aim to create an inclusive environment where every colleague is valued and respected for who they are and where they have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. We want a workplace that offers all our stakeholders a safe, effective and enabling environment.

Bullying, harassment, victimisation and violence make it almost impossible for people to function at their best. They deprive people of their human rights and negatively affect their health, wellbeing, safety, security and, ultimately, their advancement in the workplace. We all have the right to be in a workplace that’s free from bullying, harassment, victimisation and violence.

FOR FEMALES IN THE MINING WORKFORCE (12 PER CENT), SAFETY MEANS MORE THAN JUST MANAGING THE RISK OF PHYSICAL HARM DURING OPERATION, IT ALSO INVOLVES THE INVISIBLE THREAT OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE.

IMPACT OF THE INITIATIVES

It is early days, but Anglo American is undergoing radical transformation. We have started to talk about psychological safety as an equal partner to physical safety. Conversations about mental health are no longer taboo. Through our “Living with Dignity” programme, we have drawn a line in the sand. No more. Not in our mines, and not in our mining communities.

When COVID-19 lockdowns hit countries globally at the beginning of 2020, Living with Dignity focused on strengthening the support for victims of violence in the communities in which we operate. This support has since evolved in many of our communities, and it is an opportune time to reflect on learnings and consolidate this work further and to build on and expand partnerships to reach an integrated strategic approach to eradicating gender-based violence and sexual harassment. We worked closely with the National Shelter Movement in supporting GBV shelters, particularly in our host communities, and our efforts intensified over the past year as the pandemic further exacerbated this issue in the country.

In 2020, we reviewed and updated our policies and procedures relating to GBV and sexual harassment across our business units in South Africa. The revised policy will be supported by an independent, victim-centric, GBV support function with expert capability in investigation, counselling and advice.

We continue to work with the National Shelter Movement and UN Women to support over 20 shelters in host communities with food parcels, personal protective equipment and financial aid for basics like data and transportation. Further to this, De Beers Group and Anglo American Platinum are also supporting infrastructure improvements and working with NGO partners to build capacity at shelters.

It is high time that we, as an industry, are serious about GBV-related safety in the workplace. “Safety in the workplace” isn’t a slogan, but something we should all be taking a stand on and fighting for every day.”