[women-rights] Southern Africa: Women and girls still facing discrimination and violence

News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE


AI Index: AFR 01/011/2002 (Public)
News Service No: 225
5 December 2002

Southern Africa: Women and girls still facing discrimination and violence
"Immediate action is needed to protect Southern African women from the 
combined effects of violence and HIV/AIDS," Amnesty International said today.

"Despite commitment by Southern African governments to eliminate 'all forms 
of discrimination [and] all forms of violence against women and girls' to 
reduce their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, there continues to be evidence of 
widespread economic, social and legal discrimination along with high levels 
of violence, including sexual violence, against women and girls in Southern 
African countries," Amnesty International said.

According to UNAIDS, women and girls comprise the majority of those living 
with HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa. With infection levels in the countries of 
this region ranging from 13 to 38% of the adult population, there is urgent 
need for governments to fulfill their commitments made 18 months ago at the 
special session of the UN General Assembly on the global HIV/AIDS crisis.

States are also obliged under international human rights and humanitarian 
law to prevent violence against women and provide redress to survivors of 
violence. These obligations exist irrespective of whether the abuses were 
committed by private individuals or by state agents.

Last August, at an Amnesty International-organized workshop, civil society 
activists and healthcare professionals from eight Southern African 
countries identified serious problems which prevent survivors of rape from 
having access to justice and necessary healthcare. These obstacles include 
discriminatory attitudes, practices and laws, poor standards of police 
investigations, as well as low standards of medical care and procedures for 
the forensic examination of rape survivors.

Some countries, such as South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, have initiated 
law and criminal justice reforms and improvements to police training which 
will, over time, increase women's access to effective remedies in cases of 
rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence.

South Africa has begun to implement policies to improve standards of 
medical and psychological care and treatment, as well as the forensic 
medical examination of survivors of sexual violence. Very recently the 
government has begun to implement a policy of testing, counselling and 
provision of post-exposure prophylaxis for rape survivors at risk of HIV 
infection.

However these initiatives are still at a preliminary stage and in some 
cases are still being resisted by some government officials. The vast 
majority of victims of rape in South Africa and in the sub-region still do 
not have access to potentially life-saving treatment.

In contrast to these positive developments, the human rights situation for 
women has worsened in Zimbabwe and Swaziland. The vulnerability of women 
and girls to sexual and domestic violence and the HIV/AIDS pandemic has 
been exacerbated in Swaziland by continuing legal discrimination and denial 
of access to social and economic rights. The current constitutional crisis 
in Swaziland may cause further deterioration in women's access to justice 
and effective remedies.

In Zimbabwe, a profound crisis of political legitimacy and widespread human 
rights abuses, including politically-motivated sexual violence against 
perceived opponents of the government, has undermined legal, police and 
health reforms which would have benefited women's access to justice and 
healthcare. Women and girls, particularly those living in rural areas, are 
among the most vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and at risk from the 
widespread food shortages in both countries.

During this period of the internationally recognized 16 days of activism 
for no violence against women and children (25 November to 10 December) 
Amnesty International calls on governments in the Southern African region, 
with the support of the international community, to show political will in 
addressing the multiple causes of violence against women and girls.

They should vigorously promote and protect the rights contained in the 
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination 
Against Women and its Optional Protocol, the UN Declaration on the 
Elimination of Violence Against Women, the African Charter on Human and 
Peoples' Rights (African Charter) and the Southern African Development 
Community (SADC) Heads of State declaration on gender and development, and 
its addendum on the prevention and eradication of violence against women 
and children. Amnesty International urges governments of the region to 
promote the adoption and early entry into force of the Draft Protocol To 
The African Charter On The Rights Of Women In Africa.

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