This report from Thea Shahrokh and Elizabeth Mills of the Institute for Development Studies reflects on the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59), and ties it to the work of collective actors addressing structural violence in South Africa. The main argument of the piece is that commitments and targets for ending sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) are not enough if they are not connected to political processes of change.
The authors highlight that these vital actors have continued to make visible the importance of addressing SGBV at the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 59). However, it is clear that there is still a long way to go. The failure of CSW59 to engage with civil society has led to widespread condemnation of the process by civil society groups, and while the gender equality and SGBV targets and indicators currently under consideration for the sustainable development goals are important, it is still not clear whether this can translate into adequate implementation and transformative change.
What is needed is a refocusing on the root causes of violence, not just the symptoms. The authors find that through the stories of activists, legacies of racial and economic inequality in South Africa shape contemporary experiences of violence. For this reason, the SDGs cannot disconnected from the intersections between gender, class and race-based discrimination and inequality that manifest in the political and economic realities and struggles experienced in people’s everyday lives
Finally, the report goes on to talk about challenging institutions that maintain harmful gender practices, as well as the need to recognise the transformative role of the collective. The authors argue that in taking this agenda forward, governments, citizens and civil society must recognise that strategies are most effective when:
- There is a clear vision and purpose for gender transformative collective action, reflecting a partnership between state, social actors and citizens
- Collective action in ending SGBV is sustainable at the community level: more understanding is needed on what drives citizen action, enables ownership of the process of change, and the resources needed to support this;
- There are clear strategies and policies for mediating and linking across actors to strengthen networked ways of working to address SGBV across multiple levels and social and political spaces
- Government recognises citizens and civil society organisations as effective partners in ending SGBV, and there is collaborative working to support policy reform on the issue of SGBV, and importantly in enabling effective implementation
- There are political decision-makers and champions driving institutional change, while entrenched patriarchy in political and religious institutions needs to be challenged in order for these institutions to more effectively address the root causes of SGBV
- Government accountability for ending SGBV is realised; civil society in South Africa is currently calling on the government for multi-sectoral engagement and citizen participation to develop and implement a fully-costed and funded National Strategic Plan to end SGBV
[adapted from source]