5 minute read
Building an equal world
Sonke Gender Justice
Building an equal world
Working towards ensuring gender rights, the non-profit organisation Sonke Gender Justice has been championing equality and empowerment for 16 years in South Africa and on the continent.
Through various programmes and outreaches, the organisation aims to empower women, men, and children to resist patriarchy, advocate for gender justice and achieve gender transformation. Sonke aims to build the capacity of government, civil society organisations and citizens with a human rights framework, to achieve gender equality, prevent gender-based violence and reduce the spread of HIV and the impact of AIDS.
Sonke believes that its gender transformational work must:
• Promote the rights of women and girls and link to efforts to empower them
• Enhance the lives of boys and men and help them to see the benefits of transforming gender norms
• Show the effects of gender norms and inequalities on men and women
• Explore ways to transform gender relations by engaging both women and men
• Address structural and social determinants of gender inequality, income inequality and the unequal division of labour
To do this work, Sonke runs a number of programmes to address various issues facing our society.
Among its focus areas are fighting gender-based violence, reducing the spread of HIV, protecting children’s rights and promoting the rights of migrants and refugees.
Fighting gender-based violence
Sonke has been a strong advocate for the national strategic plan on gender-based violence and femicide, the government’s comprehensive response to reduce violence against women. It includes strengthening the justice system.
Under the plan, the government has proposed the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill of 2022. The bill repeals the Sexual Offences Act (previously Immorality Act), and Section 11 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007, to decriminalise the sale and purchase of adult sexual services. Sonke has been vocal in supporting this bill, saying it will go a long way towards protecting sex workers against abuse and exploitation.
Sonke also runs the Prevention+ programme, with partners in Indonesia, Pakistan, Rwanda, Lebanon and Uganda, which aims to engage men and boys on the root causes of gender-based violence. The programme is built on extensive research that has shown the effectiveness of using a gender-transformative approach in preventing violence and eliminating harmful gender norms to create an equal world.
Preventing the spread of HIV
Sonke Gender Justice works closely with UNAIDS and other organisations to increase the focus on men and their participation in HIV response efforts. Sonke advocates for transforming harmful gender norms that increase women’s and men’s vulnerabilities to HIV and AIDS.
Sonke was a partner in launching the Global Platform for Action on Men in the HIV Response at the 21st International AIDS Conference in 2016. The policy outlines goals to improve men’s access to and use of HIV wellness services.
While Sonke is primarily a women’s rights organisation, its programmes account for the fact that men’s behaviour can affect women’s vulnerability to HIV and Aids. Various research has shown that men are reluctant to access medical treatment and are often unwilling to get tested for HIV.
The benefits of testing men for HIV and offering those positive for HIV treatment include reduced opportunistic infections and lower HIV infections to their partners.
Protecting children’s rights
Preventing violence against children is part of Sonke’s work, as there is a link between children’s rights and women’s rights – abuse in childhood can lead to the potential perpetration of violence in adulthood.
Sonke has numerous programmes to enact change, engaging caregivers, community members, policymakers, faith leaders, and more. Among these is fighting corporal punishment against children in South Africa. One of the campaigns aimed at preventing corporal punishment is the MenCare campaign.
The campaign promotes positive discipline, including the dissemination of videos, televised interviews, radio content, fact sheets, and infographics to educate the public on the harms of corporal punishment.
Sonke also created a documentary in 2017 titled “I’m Scared of My Teacher”, which tells the story of a young schoolgirl who was allegedly beaten by her teacher for not completing her homework. The documentary questions why, if corporal punishment was banned in schools in 1997, it is still being used as a form of discipline.
Education on refugee and migrant rights
Sonke has also lobbied for migrants’ and refugees’ rights to access sexual and reproductive health services in South Africa. Through their #UnderTheBlankets campaign, Sonke is educating migrants and refugees on how they can access government sexual and reproductive health services in South Africa. The campaign also seeks to remind healthcare workers that everyone in South Africa, regardless of nationality, has a right to access free primary healthcare services, including reproductive healthcare.
This means that any woman –regardless of nationality – wanting a termination of pregnancy is entitled to receive that for free. All pregnant and lactating women and all children under six years old are also entitled to free hospital care. The campaign was launched after Sonke found that refugees and migrants in South Africa can struggle to access healthcare in South Africa. Improving access to healthcare is essential in improving the nation’s sexual and reproductive healthcare, argues Sonke.
Ensuring a sustained change in gender roles and relations requires Sonke to address individual attitudes, community norms, government policies, as well as underlying economic, political and social pressures. To carry out this work, Sonke has partnered with various organisations and communities to develop multifaceted strategies that promote equality and prevent violence.
