TOPLINE: A judge has <a href="https://variety.com/2021/music/news/britney-spears-conservatorship-request-denied-remove-father-1235009486/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rejected</a> a November request by Britney Spears to have her father removed as the conservator of her estate, court papers show, a week after the pop star delivered a blistering testimony describing his control as “abusive” and akin to “sex trafficking,” although the denial is not a response to Spears’ recent statement.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny rejected Spears’ request to have her father, Jamie Spears, ousted from the conservatorship role he has held for 13 years, according to court documents filed Wednesday.&nbsp;



The singer’s lawyers filed the request last year, with her lawyers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2020/11/11/britney-spears-loses-bid-to-oust-father-from-conservatorship-says-she-wont-perform-while-hes-in-charge/?sh=7707c98d4dcb">telling</a>&nbsp;the court Spears&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/britney-spears-seeks-freedom-from-father-685c547c55bebd617bd637e3fb55d64c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fears her father</a>&nbsp;and will not perform or resume her career while he has control over her&nbsp; life and estate.&nbsp;



While rejecting the bid to remove her father as conservator, the judge did permit the singer’s request to have the Bessemer Trust, a wealth management firm, appointed as co-conservator.



The filing follows an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/06/23/i-deserve-to-have-a-life-britney-spears-speaks-out-about-conservatorship/?sh=50f75b457b0c">impassioned</a>&nbsp;testimony Spears delivered to court last week urging it to end the conservatorship and accusing her father and members of the team of exploitation, preventing her removing a contraceptive device and medicating her with lithium against her wishes, a mood stabilizer most commonly used to treat bipolar disorder.&nbsp;



The judge did not take that testimony into account when evaluating this request as Spears has not filed a formal petition to end the conservatorship.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h3>



Britney Spears has not yet filed a petition to end her conservatorship completely. With her father still partially in control and the singer now open to taking more aggressive moves to end the conservatorship, it’s possible this could be her next step.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



In her testimony last week, Spears&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/06/23/britney-spears-full-statement-against-her-conservatorship/?sh=6dd8722621bd">pleaded</a>&nbsp;to the judge: “I just want my life back. And it’s been 13 years. And it’s enough. It’s been a long time since I’ve owned my money. And it’s my wish and my dream for all of this to end without being tested.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



Britney has been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/06/22/britney-spears-has-reportedly-fought-for-years-to-end-conservatorship/?sh=5a4e78ac234a">trying</a>&nbsp;to end her conservatorship—which gives its managers an incredible amount of control over her personal and business affairs—for years. Initially, a court placed Spears under conservatorship in 2008 following a series of mental health crises and very public breakdowns, including shaving her head and attacking a photographer’s car with an umbrella. The move was initially successful in reviving the singer’s business affairs, which moved from debt to a net worth of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2020/10/13/inside-britney-spears-fortune-the-freebritney-movement-and-why-shes-not-on-forbes-new-list/?sh=43ce9574e753">over $60 million</a>, resulted in numerous albums, a lengthy Las Vegas residency and a judging gig on the X Factor. Yet Spears, arguably one of the world’s most marketable pop stars, has not released an album since 2016 or performed live since 2018. She has been on a total hiatus since early 2019 and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/britney-spears-seeks-freedom-from-father-685c547c55bebd617bd637e3fb55d64c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vowed</a>&nbsp;her career will stall while her father is in control. More&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/06/16/britneyspeaks-britney-spears-set-to-testify-in-conservator-case-that-sparked-viral-movement/?sh=52b0aafa27c0">recently</a>, fans and other musicians have spoken out about her treatment, launching the “Free Britney” movement and protesting that the singer should be given more control over her life.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contra">CONTRA</h3>



Jamie Spears&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/22/arts/music/britney-spears-conservatorship.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claims</a>&nbsp;he is acting in his daughter’s interest and&nbsp;<a href="https://variety.com/2021/music/news/britney-spears-dad-conservatorship-not-his-fault-1235008720/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">denies</a>&nbsp;that he is responsible for many of the restrictions allegedly placed on his daughter. In particular, he has not been in charge of her personal or medical affairs after he stepped down from the position in 2019 due to ill health. He has called for his co-conservator, Jodi Montgomery, to be investigated over his daughter’s claims. Montgomery is reportedly in charge of medical and personal decisions.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h3>



$2.4 million. That’s how much Spears has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/06/24/how-much-did-britney-spearss-dad-earn-controlling-her-life/?sh=6907451d7a6b">paid</a>&nbsp;her father as a “salary” since February 2009, a year after he was named conservator of her estate. This figure does not include other expenses and payouts like a percentage of touring revenue, legal bills and office rental.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/06/23/britney-spears-full-statement-against-her-conservatorship/?sh=6dd8722621bd">Britney Spears’ Full Statement Against Her Conservatorship</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/06/24/how-much-did-britney-spearss-dad-earn-controlling-her-life/?sh=6907451d7a6b">How Much Has Britney Spears’ Dad Earned Controlling Her Life?</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/02/17/britney-spears-net-worth-revealed--and-its-shockingly-low-compared-to-her-pop-peers/?sh=522d6cae18ac">Britney Spears’ Net Worth Revealed – And It’s Shockingly Low Compared To Her Pop Peers</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/06/23/i-deserve-to-have-a-life-britney-spears-speaks-out-about-conservatorship/?sh=50f75b457b0c">‘I Deserve To Have A Life’: Britney Spears Speaks Out About Conservatorship</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2020/11/11/britney-spears-loses-bid-to-oust-father-from-conservatorship-says-she-wont-perform-while-hes-in-charge/?sh=7707c98d4dcb">Britney Spears Loses Bid To Oust Father From Conservatorship, Says She Won’t Perform While He’s In Charge</a> (Forbes)



By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

Celebrity Sightings in New York – September 29, 2008

Britney Spears Loses Another Bid To Oust Father From Conservatorship, A Week After Her Impassioned Speech Calling It ‘Abusive’

At least 110 women are raped in South Africa. Every day.
There are many similar statistics, all pointing to the same stupefying fact – that South Africa is one of the most dangerous places for girls and women.
This writer too is a survivor of an episode of violence, which – ironically – happened the evening before the country celebrated Women’s Day (August 9) in 2014.
In South Africa, a strong patriarchal mind-set, coupled with the intersection of race, gender, class and other identities, influence gender-based violence. There is also a gross underreporting of such crimes.
In the following pages, two educated young women recount how they didn’t let their own experience of violence get them down.
Samantha Smit* (name changed to protect identity) and Bukelwa Moerane reside 40 kilometers from each other, one in the affluent area of Roodepoort, and the other in Diepsloot, a township in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. Their paths have never crossed, but destiny served them the same experience from hell – and they survived it.
<h2>Samantha Smit, 28</h2>
In 2013, three days after South Africa celebrated Women’s Day, Smit was drugged and raped by three male friends she had known for seven years. 
When we meet her on a warm Thursday evening in January, the neighborhood is quiet, and her home warm and secure with high security fences. Wearing an oversized t-shirt and jeans, she leads us to the pool area her father helps set up for us. 
Underneath Smit’s warm exterior is the aching heart of a woman still trying to comprehend a disturbing episode in her past. 
“When you read statistics about women who experience violence, whether it’s sexual violence, domestic abuse or interpersonal violence, I would think I was lucky to not have experienced anything before I was 18 years old. And [this state of the country] is a sad reality,” says Smit. 
What was an ordinary night out with friends ended up being her worst nightmare. 
“They asked us to come through to their flat which was nothing strange, because we have all been friends for a long time. We trusted them, we knew them and often went to each other’s houses.” 
They offered her a drink, which she didn’t know was spiked with Liquid E, a date rape drug. 
Fifteen minutes later, she felt dizzy. 
The next thing, they were stripping her in the kitchen and dragging her into the bedroom. 
“The more I put my clothes back on, the more they were taken off. They found it amusing,” she recalls. 
Smit was powerless at the time. 
“It was like a ragdoll effect. I knew it was happening, I didn’t black out, I didn’t lose consciousness. But I wasn’t able to do anything about it. I felt like I was looking into the situation. The next morning, I had a cup of coffee and left,” she tells us. 
She was in denial and did not want the stigma attached to being a victim. 
“I think a part of me knew all along, but did not want to accept it. I also felt like maybe if we don’t give it a name it won’t have the impact… Because at least you still have a little bit of power and it is not completely stripped from you,” she says. 
Her life was never to be the same again. 
“Suddenly I couldn’t stand people touching me. It would suddenly repulse me. I was startled incredibly easily,” she says. 
She suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and checked into a clinic five months after the incident. 
“It’s a difficult thing to admit to yourself… I realized I was spiralling out of control.” 
But she soon reclaimed her power by writing a letter to the three men and confronting them individually. 
Though the scar will never completely heal, counselling, and opening up to other women, has helped. 
“Every woman I opened up to had a similar story to share. That helped me a lot in breaking down the stigma.”
<h2>Bukelwa Moerane, 25</h2>
Moerane has been more vocal about her “near-death experience”. She lost her teeth trying to escape from her abductor in February last year. 
She was on her way home in a taxi one night from Maponya Mall in the township of Soweto. As she stepped out at the Bara taxi rank in Soweto, it was near empty; then out of the blue, a man driving a navy Polo came up from behind and shoved her into his vehicle. 
“What was going through my mind was ‘I don’t know if this guy has a gun behind me or a knife’. He said to me, ‘don’t do anything stupid, you will get hurt’. Instantly, as he said that, my mind stopped working,” shares Moerane. 
The abductor drove off with her, holding on tightly to her wrist. 
“He was swearing at me, and saying ‘I will rape you, I will kill you, don’t even try anything funny’!” 
Moerane started saying her last prayers thinking of her mother and four-year-old daughter. Then, she noticed the door was unlocked. 
“My heart started to beat faster. I started thinking ‘I need to get out, I need to get out, there is something I need to do’,” she says. 
The kidnapper headed down a dark road she knew. 
“I knew if he did something to me in that area, no one was going to find me. I know there are most [probably] thousands of bodies in that area not checked for. I was not going to be one of them,” says Moerane. 
She pretended to be relaxed. 
“I then looked at him, and noticed he was scared as well. His voice was shaking. I think he had gone through something and felt the need to revenge on me.” 
She was no longer frightened. 
“So if this person is scared, why should I be scared? I told myself to calm down and I started calming down, because he was holding on to my right hand at the time,” says Moerane. 
She somehow mustered the courage to jump out of the moving vehicle kicking the door until it opened. 
“He was slapping me and was trying to hold my hand. With the other hand, he was trying to drive and there was oncoming traffic.” 
Her biggest fear was for the kidnapper to grab a weapon and kill her, so she leapt out. She lost two of her front teeth, and was bruised and injured. 
“I could see my skin peeling off, and dark particles. My glasses fell off. While this car was dragging me, I don’t know for how long, I landed with my hands trying to protect my face, but I guess I was too late,” she says. 
Bleeding, she got back up and ran for her life. She tried to stop moving cars, pleading for help, but none did. At the nearest garage, she was taken to Baragwanath Hospital. 
Moerane still fears traveling by herself, but finds solace speaking out. 
She was a participant at the #NotInMyName march last year to the Union Buildings in South Africa’s capital Pretoria sparked by the death of Karabo Mokoena, the young woman allegedly stabbed 27 times by her ex-boyfriend. 
Moerane also took to Twitter to speak out against gender-based violence in the country. She posted images of her after the kidnapping and sought crowdfunding to fix her smile. 
That’s when celebrity dentist Alexander Faizi Rawhani, known as Dr Smile, helped put the smile back on her face. 
“I believe God kept me safe that time and he [the abductor] could do it again. But one thing I know is if he comes back, we go out together. I don’t go out alone. We die together this time,” says Moerane.
Physical violence against women 
• 21% of women over the age of 18 reported they had experienced violence at the hands of a partner. That’s one in five women. 
• Divorced or separated women are more likely to experience physical abuse. 
• The Eastern Cape has the highest rate of physical abuse (a whopping 32% women reporting it).
Sexual violence against women 
• 6% of women over the age of 18 reported they have experienced sexual violence. 
• 16% of divorced or separated women experienced sexual violence by a partner. 
• 10% of women living with a partner reported sexual violence against them. 
• The North West Province reported the highest rate of sexual violence (with 11.8% of women reporting). 
[Source: South Africa Demographic and Health Survey 2016]

Portrait of a Danish woman, 35 years old, with arm and hands up

The Perilous Life Of A Woman In South Africa

From babyhood to adulthood, children are exposed to many forms of violence, no matter where they live.
Black adolescent boys in the United States are 19 times more likely to die than white boys of the same age, and face a similar risk of dying as their peers in the conflict zones of South Sudan. Latin America and the Caribbean have the highest child murder rates in the world. Around 300 million two-to-four-year-olds globally will experience physical punishment or verbal abuse by their parents or caretakers. And at least 15 million girls will have been sexually abused or raped by their 19th birthdays.
These are just some of the alarming findings of two wide-ranging global reports on violence against children. Both reports point to two major challenges: getting countries to gather better data on the various types of violence against children, which so often happens inside the home and/or by people known to the children, and taking steps to put an end to it.
There are still big gaps in knowledge, with many countries completely in the dark about the extent to which their child citizens are victims of violence. Even countries with better statistics have no idea how much corporal punishment happens in homes for example, or of the extent to which boys experience physical and sexual violence. All too often, violence against children is shrouded in secrecy.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2018/01/17/calling-sexual-harrassment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Calling Out Sexual Harassment</a>
Know Violence in Childhood, a global initiative to end violence against children, released a detailed report informed by 44 research papers, thousands of articles, reports and other sources. Although the report presents a global picture, the authors state that “reliable data on inter-personal violence in childhood are difficult to obtain. This is partly because such violence takes place within relationships and is hidden by a strong culture of silence”. And many children and women are reluctant to report violence because of the stigma and fear of repercussions.
UNICEF’s report, A Familiar Face: Violence in the Lives of Children and Adolescents, builds on their seminal 2014 report on child violence statistics, Hidden in Plain Sight, which compiled data from 190 countries. Their new report contains updated statistics and analysis and notes that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include targets to wipe out violence against children by 2030, offer the potential get better data on the crimes, ensure that monitoring takes place, that countries are held to account and most importantly, that they take proactive steps to stop it.
Although much more information is now available on violence against children than it was a few years ago, the gaps make it hard to compare countries with each other and for states to report and measure their progress on the SDGs.
Goal 5 (gender equality) and Goal 16 (peace) contain specific targets aimed at stopping violence against children but many of the other goals indirectly address some of the drivers of this violence too, including poverty, lack of education and poor health.
Nevertheless, if more progress is not made and if current trends continue, “close to two million children and adolescents could be killed by an act of violence by the year 2030”, warn the authors of the UNICEF report. And whether violence ends in death or not, the effects of pervasive and various forms of abuse throughout childhood have an insidious impact on society in general, says Know Violence Global Co-Chair A.K. Shiva Kumar.
“From severe physical punishment to sexual abuse to homicide, childhood violence damages individuals, families and communities in both rich countries and poor, with a cost in trillions of dollars a year.”
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2017/10/16/oprah-keeping-promise-made-mandela/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Oprah Keeping The Promise Made To Mandela</a>
Violence against children is closely tied up with violence against women. Children who see their mothers abused will more likely perpetrate violence themselves, warn the experts.
Childhood violence occurs in many forms – corporal punishment in the home and at school; physical, sexual and emotional abuse by adults or peers.
“Beyond the immediate physical damage it causes, exposure to violence can traumatize children, harm school performance, lead to depression and other illnesses, and increase the chances that young people will become the victims or perpetrators of violence in the future,” say the Know Violence in Childhood authors.
The UNICEF report cites an emerging body of research that shows the toxic effects of violence and other trauma on the developing brains of children in the first 1,000 days of their lives.
Violence not only threatens children’s physical safety but their cognitive and emotional development too. This is particularly disturbing given that data from 30 countries showed that nearly half of all one-to-two-year-olds were verbally abused or received corporal punishment.
Online violence is another emerging category of violence as more and more children around the world gain access to the Internet. Online bullying, harassment, sexual extortion and “grooming” for sex and child pornography are now the shadow side of increasing interconnectedness between children and their peers or with adult strangers, including those in far-flung parts of the globe.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2018/01/08/dark-side-social-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: The Dark Side Of Social Media</a>
Yet there is still a great deal of public ignorance about the many forms of violence that children experience. According to the UNICEF report, “Despite a growing awareness of the global nature of violence against children, the misconception that it is relatively rare persists. Media reporting typically focuses on extreme cases, such as death or rape. And while such tragedies, thankfully, are relatively uncommon, other acts of violence are not.” The authors also conclude that two out of three violent acts against children and adolescents are inter-personal rather than a result of broader conflict or civil unrest.
Although both reports make the point that violence happens across all economic strata, in rich and poor countries, low-income and high-income families, three regions in Africa nevertheless take the top three spots in tables compiled by Know Violence in Childhood for 2015: West and Central Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, and Middle East and North Africa. These regions have the highest combined totals for the following categories: corporal punishment; bullying and physical fights; physical and sexual violence against girls; and child homicide. Although Latin America and the Caribbean have the highest rate of child murder, the other forms of violence are far lower in these regions. Industrialized countries have the lowest rates of all these categories combined. Another statistic shows that sexual violence against girls is worst in Eastern and Southern Africa, followed by West and Central Africa and Middle East and North Africa.
So what steps do experts recommend for taking steps to end the many forms of violence against children? As UNICEF says, “It will take individual and collective action to right this global wrong.” Measures must be taken at state, community and inter-personal levels, say the experts. Outlawing violence is a first step. So far, only 60 of 193 UN member states prohibit corporal punishment in the home. In schools, corporal punishment is either partly or fully illegal in roughly 130 countries.
Other steps include addressing the socio-economic conditions that perpetuate the violence such as unemployment, poverty, substance abuse and the like. And hopefully the SDGs will help build public awareness and pressure countries to come on board with clear efforts to prevent it.
Raising awareness in communities and among parents and caregivers on the rights of children and on the toxic effects of violence against them, as well as helping them find different strategies to manage children’s behavior, are among the recommendations the Know Violence in Childhood report makes.
Tackling hierarchical school systems that allow corporal punishment and other violence such as bullying is another. UNICEF is partnering with school programs to help teachers use strategies that promote better behavior rather than resort to punishment. The organization, a partner in the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, has also developed a program called INSPIRE, which aims to spread awareness around programs that have been shown to work.
And, despite the downside of so many children being online, there is an upside too: technology can also protect children, with online awareness raising campaigns or mobile phone map applications, for example, that can help keep them safe.

Children At Risk From A Known Enemy

For as long as women have been in the workforce, tolerating sexual harassment has been their cost of earning a living alongside men. Today, it’s a silent epidemic affecting half of the population in a society that has been conditioned to assume ‘that’s just how the world works’. For decades, this misogynist pathology has allowed powerful men to use women as sexual cannon fodder. But the world can no longer ignore this issue; women can no longer remain silent.
The allegations against movie producer Harvey Weinstein sparked a global conversation about the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace, and the culture of silence when it comes to reporting it. Weinstein covered up 30 years of crimes such as demands for sex in return for roles, indecent exposure and rape, with settlements, non-disclosure agreements and blacklisting anyone who tried to report him. As it stands, over 60 women, including A-list actresses Lupita Nyong’o and Angelina Jolie have come forward to add their names to the list of Weinstein’s victims.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2018/01/08/dark-side-social-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: The Dark Side Of Social Media</a>
The presence of sexual harassment in the film industry is not surprising. It’s part of an age-old custom known as the ‘casting couch’, where Hollywood powerbrokers demand sexual favors from aspiring actresses in return for roles.
Aliki Saragas from the South African advocacy group SWIFT (Sisters Working In Film and Television) says sexual harassment and abuse of women remain one of the biggest struggles in the industry, and the Weinstein scandal only works to highlight what has been an ongoing struggle for women in film and entertainment worldwide. One can be forgiven for thinking the industry has evolved over the years and the casting couch is just a relic from Hollywood’s golden age, but its tactics appear to have lived on in the system created by men like Weinstein.
Courtnae Paul, a dancer and choreographer in the South African entertainment industry, said she had her first casting couch experience at the age of 12 in a studio, where an older, unnamed producer tried to kiss her.
Johannesburg-based scriptwriter Lisa Mncube said that after she reported her sexual abuse, instead of receiving comfort she was treated as “dirty and mischievous”.
The casting couch may be exclusive to this industry, but the idea that women have to endure unwanted sexual advances for career success exists in every field. Sexual harassment is endemic in all workplaces. It’s in the White House and the army, in the media and tech industry, in academia, corporate boardrooms and every institution where there is a power imbalance. A case in point is the financial sector, where men hold the majority of leadership roles.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/life/2017/12/08/karlie-kloss-codings-supermodel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Karlie Kloss &#8211; Coding&#8217;s Supermodel</a>
Anusha Naidoo, who has a senior position in South Africa’s corporate finance sector, says this abuse of power limits women’s opportunities for growth.
“If I’m in an uncomfortable situation, I’m told to get over it or ‘toughen up’ if I want to progress in this field,” she says.
Naidoo recalls an encounter she raised with her superior, which he dismissed as her being too sensitive.
“This is why women in male-dominated industries don’t report their issues, because we fear the stigma might hurt our careers in the long run.”
Johannesburg-based financial planner Samiksha Budhram says men in the financial industry treat the workplace as a ‘boys club’, passing crude and callous remarks about women among themselves, sometimes in the presence of other women.
“The fact that men have the freedom to harass a woman even when she isn’t in the same room is a cruel privilege,” Budhram says. “It’s as if we are invisible.”
<div id="attachment_35005" style="width: 262px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-35005" class=" wp-image-35005" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Harvey-Weinstein-226x300.jpg" alt="Harvey Weinstein #MeToo" width="252" height="335" />Harvey Weinstein (Photo by Getty Images)</div>
The Weinstein scandal has emboldened over 300,000 women worldwide to share their stories of sexual harassment and gender-based violence on social media using the hashtag #MeToo.
What’s important about this thread is that it gives a voice to acts that are public, but silenced by convention.
“Why were you dressed like that? Why did you go there? Why were you there alone? You could have avoided it.”
Because most women have already heard this before, they stay silent fearing no one will believe them.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2017/12/06/gaslighting-surely-happened/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Gaslighting &#8211; Surely, This Has Happened To You Too</a>
Sadly, women’s rights are largely marginalized in South Africa. According to Crime Stats SA, there were 51,895 sexual offences reported in South Africa in 2016, just over 142 per day.
SWIFT ran a survey of its own in January this year, outlining gender disparity in the workplace. Of the women surveyed, 23.7% indicated that they had been unwillingly touched in the workplace and 65% have witnessed sexual harassment in the workplace. 71% said they did not have a support structure to report their cases and feel human resources departments don’t care about employees, but rather protect the companies’ interests. Moreover, the majority of these women said there would be no repercussions if the perpetrator was reported because men in the industry protect one another, confirming sexual harassment to be a larger, systemic problem.
This is why Lee-Anne Bac, a director at Grant Thornton Johannesburg, feels there is an urgent need to employ more women in positions of power in the workplace. A Women in Business report released by Grant Thornton early this year shows women in leadership roles have dropped from 27% in 2016 to 23% in 2017, and less than a quarter of businesses surveyed had no women in senior management positions.
“Women are fighting from a position of lack of power, and until the balance is tilted, it will remain a difficult influence change,” Bac says, adding that Africa’s strong patriarchal culture contributes to these difficulties.
But to change a patriarchal culture that has existed for centuries isn’t up to women alone. Sexual harassment is not just a women’s issue, it’s a human issue.
“If there is to be an end to this epidemic, men have to become allies with women and not bystanders,” says Melvin Pather, a lecturer at the University of Cape Town who offers his perspective on how men can help. “If you as a man are in a position to do something, your silence makes you complicit,” he says.
The events that have occurred over the past few months form a watershed moment in how society deals with sexual harassment and assault. All men have a responsibility to lead by example and aim for a culture of zero tolerance and accountability. Once women feel they have a safe platform to voice their issues, more of them will blow the whistle on sexual harassment when and where it happens, and it won’t take decades for powerful men like Weinstein to be held accountable for their crimes. &#8211; Written by Cadine Pillay

Calling Out Sexual Harassment

Johnnie Walker, in partnership with Million Men March, Tswharanang Legal Advocacy Centre and Lifeline, held an event on Saturday at the iconic Nelson Mandela Bridge in support of an abuse-free society by pledging to do what they can to eradicate the causes and effects of women and children abuse for not only 16 days, but for all 365 days of the year. The South African public is also invited to pledge their support to eradicate the causes and effects of abuse for all 365 days of the year by pledging their support on <a href="http://www.strideforgood.co.za" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.strideforgood.co.za</a>.
Alcohol has long been associated in many parts of the world with enjoyment and celebration. At Johnnie Walker, our brands are made with pride, but are also made to be enjoyed – responsibly. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Violence against women is often related to the irresponsible use of alcohol.
<div id="attachment_34756" style="width: 511px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-34756" class=" wp-image-34756" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Diageo-Johnnie-Walker-pledge-e1512991006125-300x191.jpg" alt="" width="501" height="319" />Representatives from Diageo, Million Men March, Tswharanang Legal Advocacy Centre and Lifeline, on Nelson Mandela Bridge. (Photo supplied)</div>
Several studies from low- and middle-income countries show that men who misuse alcohol are 1.6 to 4.8 times more likely to perpetrate intimate partner violence than men who do not misuse alcohol. Fortunately, research also shows that violence against women is predictable and preventable. By identifying the social, cultural, legal and economic factors that influence such violence, it is possible to predict its occurrence and to understand how to prevent it.
The Striding Men event is just one of the many initiatives Johnnie Walker will champion to promote responsible drinking and combat alcohol misuse. Johnnie Walker is proud to invite South Africa to participate and contribute towards 365 days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children by continuing to promote responsible drinking in South Africa.

South African public invited to pledge and #strideforgood

“Calm down. You’re so sensitive. Where’s your sense of humor? You’re crazy!”
If you’re a woman, in all probability, you’ve heard it before.
Psychologists refer to this as ‘gaslighting’ – silencing techniques used to shut you down after you have addressed someone else’s behavior. In that moment, the speaker is making a judgment about how you should feel.
Gaslighting is when one person systemically confuses the other person into thinking their reactions are crazy, to the point where they actually question their sanity. The term is not very mainstream as it originated from the 1940’s film Gas Light, where a husband manipulates his wife into thinking she is crazy.
While gaslighting is not a universal truth for all women, there are plenty of women who unknowingly encounter it at home, in personal relationships and especially at work.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2017/12/05/80-hours-week-work/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Over 80 Hours A Week At Work?</a>
Sbusi Dlamini, HR Business Partner for ShowMax in Johannesburg, says gaslighting commonly manifests in the workplace when there is a power imbalance, such as a manager and his/her assistant. It starts with simple acts such as withholding key information like dates or details of a project, lying about instructions given or not providing the necessary support when in a position to do so.
For instance, if a woman raises valid concerns at work, she is considered to be whining or moody. If she is insulted and her feelings are hurt, it’s her fault for not having a sense of humor. In both these scenarios, the woman is to blame and both parties are conditioned into believing that women’s opinions don’t hold as much weight as men’s, and what women have to say and what they feel aren’t as legitimate.
“It is malicious because it plays on your worst fears and desire to be understood,” says Dlamini.
Dlamini points out that gaslighting is not exclusive to submissive, introverted women, but confident, assertive women with power are also vulnerable to it.
“Women are traditionally labeled as too sensitive or over-emotional, so they are more susceptible to gaslighting in various roles and industries.”
An example of this is the infamous ‘Google Memo’ written by a now former Google engineer, James Damore. He wrote that women are not suited for certain jobs because of their genetic make up, and the gender gaps at work are not due to discrimination, but inherent biological differences between men and women.
Such gender stereotypes are harmful to women because spending your days working with a colleague who believes you were born incapable of being good at your job can eventually lead you ask yourself: “What am I doing here?”
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2017/08/14/we-men-for-women/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: We, Men For Women</a>
Dlamini also believes that in addition to gender, race plays a role in the reality of women in corporate Africa.
“People of color, women in particular, are historically taught to be submissive and this undeniably follows them into the workplace. As a result of this, they find themselves submitting to those in power in order to progress, thus allowing abusive behavior,” she says.
Dlamini says the first step in dealing with gaslighters is to detach yourself so you can distinguish between the world of the gaslighter and the real world.
“It’s important to remember that gaslighting only works when you believe what the other person says,” she adds.
In her experience, she advises victims to keep a written record in case they should doubt their memory. Bringing in a third party can also help keep track of what transpires, as well as reporting the case to human resources.
Women deserve the equal, unbiased opportunity to prosper in the workplace without abusive mind games that perpetuate discrimination.
“Once you are aware of it, the hard part is over and you can work to mentally overcome it,” she says.
<h2>7 signs you are a victim of gaslighting:</h2>
<ul>
<li>You are constantly second-guessing yourself and doubting your capabilities</li>
<li>You often feel confused and “crazy” at work</li>
<li>You often ask yourself if you’re being too sensitive</li>
<li>You are always apologetic or feel you’ve done something wrong</li>
<li>You feel your thoughts and ideas are shut down</li>
<li>You are indecisive because you don’t trust your own judgment</li>
<li>You doubt your own sanity</li>
</ul>
&#8211; Written by Cadine Pillay

Gaslighting – Surely, This Has Happened To You Too

<h2>‘The Crisis Could Be With Us For The Unforeseeable Future’</h2>
The tear-inducing image of a young boy washed up on a beach in Turkey last year dominated headlines for weeks. His small, lifeless body had finally presented the true picture of the greatest crisis of our times. His death became a metaphor of the desolation and helplessness faced by the millions forcibly displaced.
The boy was later reported to have been on a boat with his family from his hometown Kobani in northern Syria, a country torn apart by war for years. He was one of 11,000 children reported as displaced every day, the victims of forced migration.
His father would later explain to reporters that their boat suddenly capsized as they were making a final and desperate attempt to escape the conflict-ridden state by sea.
This illustration is but one of many that has continued to grab headlines over the years. The refugee crisis is real and the biggest casualties are children.
Antonio Guterres, the former United Nations High Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR), highlights in the UNHCR Global Trends 2014 report: “We are witnessing a paradigm change, an unchecked slide into an era in which the scale of global forced displacement as well as the response required is now clearly dwarfing anything seen before.”
Children form an overwhelming majority, at least about half, of the world’s total refugee population upwards of 60 million.
Chaos has long descended on the world but the lack of political will by global leaders is robbing children of their childhood, families and identity.
On a recent visit to Johannesburg, British politician, activist and author, Professor Peter Hain, the Lord Hain of Neath, said the refugee crisis is a calamity for women and children.
“This global phenomenon capitalizes on the shortcomings of states, adequate political standards need to be established in order to create change,” he told FORBES WOMAN AFRICA.
While governments are not as willing to initiate processes to mitigate the rising numbers of refugees, particularly children, Amnesty International earlier this year conducted the Refugees Welcome Index; the global survey revealed that government refugee policies and citizens are on opposite ends, with the important call to integrate the refugees into economies.
The fight continues for children, though. They are more vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation in unfamiliar, often crowded conditions they have no control over.
Mosa Moremi, national child rights and advocacy advisor of SOS Children’s Villages South Africa, tells us processes to integrate children into society are very difficult.
“In my experience, sometimes children are brought into the country by parents who have migrated and then they are later abandoned. They are left with nothing.”
She highlights that giving these abandoned or unaccompanied children adequate care becomes challenging and the system is riddled with layers of red tape.
Professor Hain echoes this sentiment, stating that the crisis which manifests in “a seemingly impotent international system led by the United Nations could be with us for the unforeseeable future”.
It’s no comforting thought that one estimate suggests that 80% of the world’s refugees are in developing countries and yet less than 9% are hosted by six of the world’s richest nations. And, the rise of right-wing populism ideas, as Professor Hain stresses.
This means that many will continue to face racism, xenophobia and discrimination, imposing an unprecedented new burden on children who often have little understanding of the social, political and economic discourse of a society.
In the pages that follow, FORBES WOMAN AFRICA speaks to three young migrants in South Africa, who now live in a limbo, hurt and homeless.
<h2>Sarah (16) and Kudzai (15) Mathe</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32018 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-059-681x1024.jpg" alt="" width="681" height="1024" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-059.jpg 681w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-059-300x451.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-059-600x902.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-059-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px" />
One night in 2009 when Sarah and Kudzai Mathe, nine and eight respectively, were asleep after another long day selling tomatoes, onions and fruit, their stepfather returned home drunk as he did everyday but this time, he attempted to rape them.
Sarah was able to break free from his grip. She grabbed all her courage, and the money she had saved on the day with Kudzai, and together, they ran, not knowing where they were headed.
As they ran, Kudzai looked back. In the blackness of the night, she could see the house their mother raised them in fade into the distance, never to see it again. The girls had spent their early years with their parents in a small town in Harare, Zimbabwe.
“Our parents got divorced when we were still young. Our stepfather didn’t even hide that he didn’t love us,” they say.
Shortly after their mother’s new union, they stopped attending school.
“He told us he didn’t have money to pay for school fees and that’s when we started selling fruit and vegetables on the street.”
Whilst other children walked to school or waited for the bus in the mornings, Sarah and Kudzai would set up their stall.
“The other kids would laugh at us because we wore rags and sometimes had no shoes.”
Things got worse when their mother fell ill and passed away in 2009.
“There was no longer place for us in that house. Our stepfather just brought in different wives every night and spent most of the money we would make.”
The day after they ran away from home, as they wandered the streets, Kudzai suggested they go to South Africa.
“I heard about it and thought we could get on the bus and just go.”
They arrived at a bus station and spoke with one of the drivers who directed them to the bus that would take them to South Africa.
“When we got onto the bus, the driver asked us how much we had and I pulled out all of our savings and he grabbed it and said we should find seats,” Sarah says.
“We were so hungry and the lady we sat next to on the bus gave us an apple each. We ate them like we’d never eaten before.
“After a few hours, the bus made a stop at Beitbridge; the driver told us to get off and that he would be back for us.”
They waited for the bus driver for two weeks. He didn’t come back for them. And they were only nine and eight years old.
When it dawned on them that the bus driver was not going to be back for them, they found work handing out flyers to travelers passing by the border bridge. They were paid R30 ($2) each a week and saved that up to pay malaicha, which Sarah explains means carriers. The malaicha would help them get to South Africa.
“We paid the R200 ($15) we’d saved and we were on our way.”
With Sarah and Kudzai were five other men.
“As we walked through the forest and then the Limpopo river, what scared us the most was that any one of the men could rape us, we were the only girls and the night our father almost raped us was fresh in our memory,” recalls Sarah.
Kudzai does not say much apart from a nod or a sigh throughout the interview. But she says now: “We really thought South Africa was so far.”
After over 12 hours of walking, they found themselves in Messina, the northernmost town of Limpopo.
“We looked for work but no one would hire us.”
In time, they found an old woman who paid them R50 ($3.6) a month to clean and do the laundry. “It wasn’t that hard for us because we were used to working.”
They used the money to pay for a lorry ride to Johannesburg in September 2009. They were two of the lucky ones. When they got to Johannesburg, they were directed to the Methodist church in Braamfontein. They have since been moved and “life is good”.
“We are back in school and I love maths but I’m not that good at it,” Kudzai giggles.
“We also have each other and that’s what matters,” says Sarah, her smile brightening up a face hardened by experience.
<h2>Maqhawe Garikayi (17)</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32019 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-132-681x1024.jpg" alt="" width="681" height="1024" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-132.jpg 681w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-132-300x451.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-132-600x902.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-132-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px" />
When Maqhawe Garikayi was arrested by border security for attempting to illegally cross over into South Africa from Zimbabwe in 2012, he was not discouraged. Shortly after he was released, he tried again, and succeeded. He was 13.
Four years on, Garikayi barely looks up as he tells his story.
“I never knew my birth mother and I don’t know if I have any siblings. All I had was a stepmother who saw me as her worker, not her child. She just didn’t love me.”
Garikayi couldn’t get along with his her. At the age of 13, he was questioning his existence and toying with the idea of running away from home. Thoughts of where he would run away to and how he would survive were secondary as survival instincts compelled him to get away from what he describes “a toxic environment”.
As a young boy who was not attending school and knew no stability, he was left with little choice.
“I left home with nothing but the clothes I was wearing. I had no money. I had no documents. I heard about South Africa and how it was the land of milk and honey so that was where I was going to go.”
The second time he tried to cross the border illegally, he was able to sneak past security.
“After [hitch-hiking], I walked through a forest and then through the forceful waves of the Limpopo river. I just followed other groups of people I assumed were also on their way to South Africa.”
Trouble awaited young boys like Garikayi in Messina, where he was robbed of his clothes, and beaten. He had to cover his nudity with a discarded blue overall he found.
“I cried, I thought I was going to die.”
Garikayi mustered strength and made his way to a filling station in Messina. He spent the night there and the following morning, wandered into a suburb and knocked on doors for food and some clothes. Eventually, he was handed a pair of blue shorts, sandals and a T-shirt. After a few days, he was able to make his way to Johannesburg, in a pick-up truck.
Garikayi remembers spending almost eight months on the streets, surviving on whatever he could find in trash bins.
“It was funny the way I always found KFC in the bins, a lot of people wasted that,” he says with a hint of a smile.
Garikayi has since been taken in by an organization that is currently sending him to school, clothing him, feeding him and ensuring he has a warm bed to sleep in every night.
His dreams of being an accountant and having a family of his own have a fighting chance but he sobs and whispers: “My greatest wish is for a mother, I don’t know why God gave me this life.”
&nbsp;
<h2>Wasithanda Hadziperidzega (21)</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32020 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-0591-681x1024.jpg" alt="" width="681" height="1024" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-0591.jpg 681w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-0591-300x451.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-0591-600x902.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-child-0591-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px" />
On April 28, 2014, Wasithanda Hadziperidzega decided to leave home in pursuit of a better life, a life he thought he would find in South Africa.
But sadly, the journey and destination were a far cry from his dreams.
Originally from Ghana, Hadziperidzega moved to Zimbabwe to live with his mother, a single parent raising four young children, a common scenario in the African narrative.
His mother worked in the public sector and could not afford a decent living.
Many, if not all public service employees, were left for weeks and even months at a time without income, left to live at the mercy of a government mired in turmoil.
“My mother would never tell us that she was struggling financially but I could see; I can see things.”
One day, at the age of 18, Hadziperidzega left home as he did every day for soccer practice. After the game, he listened to his peers talk about how tough life was in Zimbabwe.
He made up his mind.
“… The grounds [were] the only place we could talk about the country’s situation and Mugabe. It was safe. After we talked, I decided then that I was going to leave. All I needed was $53 for a passport and $30 for the bus,” says Hadziperidzega.
He never returned home.
Hadziperidzega remembers it took him no longer than five minutes to decide his new fate. The task was now to make the money.
He had heard about how he could collect a small fortune in Mashonaland West, another province in Zimbabwe. The opportunity presented itself in the form of an illegal gold mining job. The word out on the street was that it was lucrative. After months of struggling to infiltrate a mine called Toppers, he was finally in.
“All I needed was a hammer, a short chisel and that torch you put around your head; it’s dark in those mines, there’s no sun,” he laughs, but there’s pain in his eyes.
After months of hard and treacherous work in the depths of Zimbabwe’s gold pits, he was able to save up $120.
He applied for his passport and used the rest to buy a bus ticket to South Africa.
“I arrived in South Africa at around 11PM at Park Station. Have you ever been to Park Station?” he asks. “There is a huge waiting area and I just sat there and pretended to be waiting for someone.”
People came and went fetching their relatives who had come through from different parts of the continent but no one came for Hadziperidzega. And it was the dead of night.
He hides his sorrow with a nervous chuckle, saying: “I knew no one was coming for me but I was just being silly and hoped someone would fetch me but I knew no one, I didn’t even understand where I was, all I knew was that I was in South Africa.”
For days, Hadziperidzega wandered the streets of Johannesburg looking for some validation that he had found in South Africa the social and economic salvation he couldn’t find in his home country, anything to convince him that he had made the right decision.
All he would encounter were other young foreigners collecting rubbish, “looking horrible”.
Nothing was easy to come by, not even scraps of food.
“I would eat anything just to make my tummy happy but not my tongue,” he shrugs.
Over the past two years, he has moved jobs trying to earn a decent living.
He says he has survived police harassment and several death threats because of his nationality.
But Hadziperidzega has not stopped dreaming.
His mind in still in the football fields of Zimbabwe; and he hopes to one day become a soccer star.
“I definitely don’t want to further my education, my whole family is educated and look at them, they are all poor and they will die poor. When you have money everything is easy and that’s all I want,” he says in conclusion.

refugee-child-015

A Lonely  Planet For The  Child  Refugee

They are regarded the dregs of society, the shunned shadows of the night.
They are sex workers, and South Africa is home to an estimated 153,000 of them. According to a 2013 study by the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), of this total, about 8,000 are men and 6,000 transgender.
Women comprise the clear majority, selling their bodies for a living, often facing abuse, persecution and prosecution for their choice. They want rights too, they say.
Unlike some countries, such as New Zealand, where sex work is legal, in South Africa, it is a criminal offence under the Sexual Offences Act of 1957. Sex workers risk being arrested while working or when running a brothel. The amended Sexual Offences Act of 2007 includes a clause that also criminalizes the clients of sex workers.
Luckily for the sex workers, on August 11 2015, human rights watch group Amnesty International passed a vote to protect the human rights of sex workers. Delegates from around the world adopted a resolution authorizing this policy to be developed and adopted.
In addition, there are organizations such as Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) fighting for the decriminalization of the sex trade and for their work to be treated like any other job.
According to Dianne Massawe of SWEAT, sex workers are not usually arrested as per the Sexual Offences Act because it is hard to enforce. Instead, she says, police use public nuisance bylaws to arrest and fine them.
Sergeant Lloyd Ramovha, spokesperson at the police station in Parkview in Johannesburg, says sex workers are charged with prostitution when caught.
“We arrest them and they appear before a judge. There are different charges, sometimes they pay a fine or are jailed for no more than three years,” he says.
The women say the system is unfair.
“One day I was walking in town and the police stopped me and put me in the van only because they know I am a sex worker. Even though I wasn’t doing my work at the time, they arrested me,” laments Pam*, a sex worker in Johannesburg.
SWEAT wants sex workers to register and pay tax, and the industry to be regulated.
“The right of every South African to choose their trade, occupation or profession, as guaranteed in the Constitution, is denied to sex workers because their work is currently illegal. We are pushing for law reform and bylaws that will work for both sex workers and the government,” says Massawe.
She adds that criminalizing sex work will not remove the sex workers from the street.
“We have instead seen an increase in human rights violations of sex workers, which goes against the moral fabric of society, the Bill of Rights and the South African Constitution.”
Pam agrees, saying they are discriminated by most stakeholders in society, not just the cops.
“When you go to the clinic and you have an STI [Sexually Transmitted Infection], the nurses don’t care. When you go to the police station and tell them you have been raped by a client and want to open a case, sometimes they ask you why you say you have been raped yet you are a sex worker. Most sex workers are scared to go and open cases,” she says.
Nelly*, another sex worker, says police sometimes arrest them for carrying condoms in their bags.
“How can we reduce STIs and HIV if police are taking condoms from us? This means they want us to have unprotected sex.”
Nelly pleads for the government to work with them and decriminalize the sex trade.
“Work is work. I am not hurting anyone. Why is my work different when I am taking care of my family through legit means? Is it better when people are sleeping around for free? All I am doing is feeding my family using what I have, so why is my work different?” she asks.
According to Massawe, when industries are criminalized, criminality links to them.
“I once received a call from a client who said he was at a brothel and he noticed that some of the girls there were underage. Currently, the law criminalizes the client so a lot of underage sex work and other crimes go unreported because people are scared of being arrested,” says Massawe.
“Decriminalizing sex work will give sex workers legal recourse because police target sex workers for free sex and bribery. Right now when you speak back at a police officer you risk being abused, assaulted and being locked up,” she adds.
Addressing the issue of sex work and HIV/AIDS, Massawe says the government must ensure that asking a sex worker for unprotected sex is illegal.
“Sex workers are one of the most marginalized groups in the world, who in most instances face constant risk of discrimination, violence and abuse. Our global movement paved the way for adopting a policy for the protection of the human rights of sex workers, which will help shape Amnesty International’s future work on this important issue,” says Salil Shetty, Secretary General at Amnesty International.
The policy will ensure sex workers around the world benefit from the same legal protection from exploitation, trafficking and violence that everyone else enjoys.
“We recognize that this critical human rights issue is hugely complex and that is why we have addressed this issue from the perspective of international human rights standards. We also consulted with our global movement to take on board different views from around the world,” he says.
Other organizations supporting the decriminalization of sex work include the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, Human Rights Watch and the Commission for Gender Equality.
“Because sex work is a criminal offence in South Africa, authorities are feared and distrusted by sex workers. If sex work was decriminalized through appropriate amendments to the law, the sex industry would become more open to regulation and the role of the police could change from persecutor to protector of sex workers,” says fact-checking organization, Africa Check, on its website.
“In addition to broader arguments for the decriminalization of sex work [such as the positive impact on public health through improved sex worker access to healthcare services and HIV prevention], decriminalization would mean sex workers could assist police in identifying people who have been trafficked or otherwise forced into sex work against their will.”
Faith Munyati, a feminist and attorney at Lawyers for Human Rights, says it should be decriminalized because most sex workers are females who form a marginalized and vulnerable group in society.
“It is well documented that women have been, and continue to be, discriminated based on their gender. This in turn results in the occurrence of rape and other various forms of abuse. Criminalizing sex work opens up numerous women to abuse. It puts them at constant risk of exploitation,” she says.
According to Munyati, when police officers arrest a sex worker, they often shame them publicly to “teach them a lesson”.
“Sex workers should not have to succumb to such discrimination because they have the inherent right to dignity.”
Munyati adds that if sex workers were considered to be employees rather than criminals, there is a possibility the negative light they are seen in would be reduced.
“Criminalizing sex work means that there are no regulations on the nature of the occupation. Regulations such as payment of tax or channels to access legal assistance in the case where a sex worker feels an unfair labor practice has taken place,” she says.
Munyati says the solution is for government to be bold and “endorse a feminist approach to sex work, enforcing non-oppressive work structures”.
Sex workers have for years been judged for their chosen profession; is it now time for a fresh perspective on their trade?

shutterstock_166922261

Still In The Shadows

He was a familiar face in her neighbor-hood who offered her a ride one day.
But as the little car drove past her stop, where she was to get off, and sped on to the freeway and into inner city Johannesburg, she knew there was danger ahead.
“From that moment, I just felt something was not right. He wasn’t touching me, he wasn’t doing anything but I just knew it,” says Nkuli Bogopa, opening up about the day she was raped at the age of 19 by a man she knew in a part of town she was afraid of. The darkness of that day seems light years away, visibly conflicting with the cheerful woman she is today in the brightly-colored room where we meet.
Bogopa is a woman of the new South African middle class, with a tertiary degree, a great job and a family. She is not the common face of rape in this country. Yet, we can only blame popular perceptions of rape for this.
Shortly before the interview, Bogopa was the one asking the questions: “what kind of women have you reached out to?”, “where are they from?”, and “what did they do?”.
It was easy to understand her concern: rape survivors are not an analogous demographic. They are separate people, from discrete communities and backgrounds. They were brought up in different ways and believe in different things.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29661 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_184280369-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_184280369-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_184280369-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_184280369-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_184280369-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_184280369.jpg 1023w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
The violation of their bodies, and in some cases, hopes, is the single thing that unites them. In many cases, it changes them completely. The person who emerges from a sexual assault can never be the same again. At the same time, the people and the world around the victim change. American writer and lecturer on psychology and politics, Andrew Solomon, says it best.
“Historically, rape has been seen less as a violation of a woman than as a theft from a man to whom that woman belonged, either her husband or her father, who suffered an economic loss (a woman’s marriageability spoiled) and an insult to his honor.”
Fear And Shame
In South Africa, signs of this quiet paternalistic culture are clear. This can explain, partly, the culture of fear and shame that surrounds reporting a rape or seeking justice.
Perhaps a popular example of this is the 2006 rape trial of a prominent South African politician, who in his 60s, was accused of raping a 31-year-old woman, related to him through a family friendship. At the end of a two-month trial, the politician was acquitted.
The brutal gang rape and disembowelment of Western Cape teen, Anene Booysen in 2013 was another famous case that rocked South Africa. Weeks earlier, there had been fury in India after a young woman in New Delhi was killed in a similar, hideous crime, and a furious South Africa realized it too was confronting a tide of sexual violence.
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Is There Justice?
The nation has not completely failed its women, children and sexually-vulnerable citizens. In 2007, the laws governing rape changed. Definitions were broadened to include both male and female victims as well as a range of sexual violations that constitute an offense.
Even the nature of the law changed. Rape is no longer governed by common law which relies heavily on the court’s prior decisions. Legislation is now in place which elevates rape to a statutory offense.
Signs of change have been celebrated by prosecutors.
In 2007, the year the new sexual offenses act came into operation, over 52,000 rape and other sexual crimes were reported to police and relevant authorities. However, in the course of gathering evidence, 60% of these cases were abandoned. Eventually, only 2,105 cases secured conviction which is only 4% of all cases reported that year.
Seven years later, the figures are much healthier. This year, more than 62,000 victims came forward, over half them were specifically rape complaints. It was a bumper crop for convictions, the highest in recent history, at 67%.
However, if you look at actual statistics, you’ll notice a major shortfall. The conviction rate corresponds to cases that ended up going to trial. So in reality, of the cases reported this year, only 8,174 went to court and only 5,484 cases secured convictions. It illustrates that sexual violence in South Africa is still an issue that needs to be addressed.
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The Third Witness
There are adverse circumstances responsible for this.
Cases are often withdrawn due to lack of evidence. The J88 form, known in courtrooms as the ‘third witness’, is a form filled after a sexual offense is reported. It records medical evidence on the victim and determines whether a rape occurred. Often, injuries are relied upon as signs of violation. In many cases, the information is vague or the examination is rushed. Advocates routinely argue for these reports to be made inadmissible during trial, eliminating the only tangible evidence of a rape outside of witness testimonies.
In some cases, rape dockets detailing the original complaint, disappear without explanation. In some areas, there is allegedly an ‘unofficial’ price list to make them disappear.
Mara Glennie, founder of Tears Foundation, a referral service for victims of sexual crimes, says this might be true in certain parts of the country.
“I do believe that [this] does happen. There are areas in our country that have a high incidence of gangsterism where this can occur.”
Without a docket recording an offense, a case cannot proceed to trial.
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Other reasons leading to the low number of cases that go to court have to do with criminal procedure. Investigators assigned to a case can be spread too thin so they may not follow up the complaint, or they report the victim or accused missing. If either one is missing, or cannot be found due to address informalities common in townships and rural areas, a case cannot go to trial.
But perhaps the greatest hurdle to having a case go to court happens at the point of reporting it. Glennie was herself a victim of sexual and violent abuse. She remembers her visit to the police station.
“I went to my local police station with black eyes and limping. I asked if I could lay a charge of abuse.”
It was a Friday and when she got to the station she was asked to return on Monday because the responsible officer was not around.
“Quite often you have unsympathetic people, generally-speaking, people who don’t want to help. It’s a messy procedure,” she says.
However, there may be a reason behind the lethargy at police stations. The South African Police Service has targets to meet and is expected to reduce violent crime by at least 4% each year. This serves as a major disincentive for officers to ensure that reported rape cases reach investigators and prosecutors.
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‘Jackrolling’
But victims themselves are slow to report crimes because of fear. In a majority of cases, the offenders are known to them, as Bogopa’s story shows. Far beyond intimidation, women who have been raped may be slow to speak because of cultural taboos.
“No one wants to say they’ve been abused by their partner, people may not want to date a rape victim. Also, there are negative financial consequences, the person that hurt you might be the breadwinner,” says Glennie.
But beyond the structures that victims can appeal to, the context in which they live is at odds with itself. South Africa is a historically conservative country grappling with the progressive laws that now govern it. The prevalence of rape and other violent crime has often been blamed on a crippling culture of violence that began during colonial rule and continued past the end of apartheid.
The legacy of the country’s past has encouraged violence in certain parts of the country. Former segregationist policies left townships unpoliced in some instances. Gangs and criminal groups in townships flourished during this time.
In Soweto, the Jack Roller gang, a youth gang prominent in the 1980s, were specialists in abducting and raping women in townships.
Their legacy continues with ‘jackrolling’ as the common street term for recreationally raping women in this way. It is clear that to alleviate the sexual crime endemic in South Africa, the mindsets of perpetrators have to change.
Back in Bogopa’s colorful office, she talks about a project she is working on.
“For as long as women are the only people talking about this issue, it’s never going to change. Our jails are full of men, our street corners are full of men, a majority of our crime is committed by men. Women are on the receiving end, men are on the other side. We need to invest more time in the boy child, we need to build better men.”
So this has become her crusade, she founded an organization that routinely brings young men together to freely discuss the “the issues of life”. Bogopa is working with a small group of young men which she hopes to grow to 2,050 annually.
“I want the message to be as broad-based as possible,” she says.
In a country known to be an international rape capital, cultural and historical problems run deep. The South African Medical Council has noted that only one in nine rape victims make it to the police station to report the crime implying the reported figures may be much higher.
Even as more and more rapes are recorded and conviction rates rise, the problems within and around sexual violence in the Republic hint at a quiet crisis where the nation’s constitutional ideals are misaligned with the attitudes of its public.

Tag: Abuse

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA