SAG'S EFFORTS TO CURB GENDER VIOLENCE SLOWLY MOVES

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRETORIA 001135

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/S, DRL, S/WE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KWMN KCRM KHIV SF
SUBJECT: SAG'S EFFORTS TO CURB GENDER VIOLENCE SLOWLY MOVES
IN RIGHT DIRECTION

Classified By: Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Raymond Brown. Reasons 1
.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka officially
launched the SAG's "365 Days National Action Plan to End
Violence Against Women and Children" on International Women's
Day (8 March) despite the conspicuous absence of an action
plan. Mlambo-Ngcuka claimed that South Africa is the first
country to develop a comprehensive plan to end violence
against women, but later told the audience of about 400
people that "we need more details on the 365 day calendar of
events with assigned tasks and activities. Until we produce
this, the 365 campaign is incomplete." (Note: In May 2006,
260 representatives from government, civil society, NGOs,
faith-based organizations, and traditional authorities signed
the Kopanong Declaration to ensure the implementation of the
National Action Plan.)

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VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN ON THE RISE
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2. (SBU) Deputy President Mlambo-Ngcuka told the audience
that the level of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse
experienced by women and children is unacceptably high and
growing. She believes that parental neglect, lack of
solidarity with victims, women and children's disempowerment,
poor law enforcement, and poverty contribute to the
challenge. To drive home her point, she recited some
sobering statistics:

-- South Africa's Medical Research Council reports that one
in nine rapes are reported every year. Last year, around
55,000 rapes were reported to police. (NOTE: The true extent
of violence in South Africa is unknown. Though the Medical
Research Council reported one in nine rapes are reported,
Statistics South Africa found that one in two rape survivors
reported the rape to police. END NOTE)

-- One in three high school-aged girls lose their virginity
during a rape.

-- Only seven to 10 percent of rapists are convicted.

-- Half of violent abuse is at the hands of someone
personally known or respected, which complicates the problem.
"Home is no longer a sanctuary for many women," said
Mlambo-Ngcuka.

-- Five out of six men are not abusers, but the majority
remain silent despite the fact that it is their daughters,
wives, or girlfriends who are victims.

-- Sixty percent of men still think a woman who wears a
knee-length or shorter skirt is sending out a sexual message.

These statistics echo those in NEPAD's Peer Review of South
Africa, which quoted estimates that half of all women will be
raped in their lifetime, 85 percent of all rapes are gang
rapes, and 1 in 4 women are in an abusive relationship.

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ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS TO GO
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3. (U) Mlambo-Ngcuka singled out six positive developments
made over the past couple of years, yet noted that none of
them have gone far enough:

-- Courts have toughened up on gender violence, but
Mlambo-Ngcuka also cautioned that there are still courts,
judges, and magistrates that trivialize these crimes and send
the wrong signals during sentencing.

-- The Children's Bill has been passed by the National
Assembly, and legislation is in the pipeline to combat
trafficking in persons. However, the Sexual Offences Bill,
which among other things broadens the definition of rape, is
yet to be finalized. Mlambo-Ngcuka admitted that she is
"truly embarassed" that the Sexual Offences Bill has been
sitting in Parliament for almost eight years. As a result,
those who commit anal rape or rape same-sex children or
adults are given lesser sentences.

-- Integrated approaches like the Thuthuzela Care Centers
(TCC) show promise. She used the Thuthuzela Centre at Jooste

Hospital in Manenberg as an example since it links directly
to the Sexual Offences Court in Wynberg, and has been shown
to yield a much higher percentage conviction rate, compared
to success rates in other courts. However, she pointed out
that these centers are few and far between. (NOTE: South
Africa's TCC model was developed by the SAG in the early
2000's to respond to rape victims. The TCC model has
attracted international interest and Chile has adopted the
model. USAID supported the opening of the first five TCCs,
including the one at Jooste Hospital. The SAG intends to
build 80 TCCs during the next three years, 15 of which will
be USG funded through PEPFAR and the Women's Justice and
Empowerment Initiative. END NOTE)

-- Treatment and care have received greater attention. The
Department of Health has launched a National Sexual Assault
Policy to meet the overall health needs of the rape survivor.


-- Media coverage of sexual assaults has improved, but still
tends to glamorize unacceptable sexual behavior.

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HIV/AIDS ADDRESSED
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4. (C) Immediately after speaking out about the media sending
mixed messages on sexual behavior, Mlambo-Ngcuka spoke
briefly about HIV/AIDS, but failed to make an explicit
connection. She told the audience that, "HIV-positive people
needed to eat well, exercise, and live a healthy and positive
life;" that "if you need to be on medication, take it
religiously to ensure that you live longer;" and that "young
people need to delay their sexual debut and always use
protection."


5. (C) Veering from her speech, which was handed out at the
beginning of the ceremony, Mlambo-Ngcuka also added that
"good nutrition can delay full-blown AIDS; the world agrees
with us now even though they misunderstood us before." She
also said that HIV-positive persons should not infect others
or "re-infect themselves." (COMMENT: Though she explained
herself by saying that people should not engage in risky
behavior after they are diagnosed, this type of comment could
send the wrong message that HIV/AIDS is curable. END COMMENT)

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COMMENT
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6. (C) According to the statistics, almost every South
African has been affected by violence against women and/or
children either directly or through someone they know. The
SAG's public acknowledgement of the enormity and complexity
of the problem is a step in the right direction, but the
country still has miles to go. South Africa continues to
have the highest number of reported rapes in the world. It
also has the second largest population of HIV-positive
persons. There are no statistics on the number of women or
men infected through rape, but the SAG must address both
problems simultaneously if it wants to slow the
interdependent crises.


7. (C) The government will not be able to do it alone.
Raising awareness of the issue or passing new legislation
will go a long way, provided judges implement the laws.
However, the only lasting solution is changing societal
attitudes toward gender violence. The SAG's holistic
approach of including civil society, trade unions,
faith-based organizations, and traditional authorities is a
sound strategy that hopefully will attain results.
TEITELBAUM