An estimated 736 million women aged 15 and older (30%) have been subjected to physical and or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence or both, at least once in their lives, according to UN Women.
This was revealed last week at a 'Training on effective Gender-Based Violence Reporting' for journalists in East and Southern Africa, held in Kigali, Rwanda where African countries were encouraged to ratify the African Charter on Human & People's Rights on the rights of Women in Africa, otherwise known as the Maputo protocol .The training was hosted by Equality Now, an international women's rights organization that works to achieve legal and systematic change that addresses violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world, with a focus on ending sexual violence, harmful practices, sex trafficking and acheiving legal equality, in partnership with Solidarity for African Women's Rights (SOAWR), a coalition of over 70 Civil society organizations in over 30 African countries. The training equipped journalists with relevant skills on Gender-sensitive reporting. The media was exposed to topics including: causes and forms of SGBV, effectiveness of implementation, strengths and weaknesses of the referral pathways, access to justice-reporting, medical, investigation, legal proceedings as well as victim/survivor and accused rights.
Private Practicing Lawyer in Rwanda, Advocate Christian Garuka noted that some of the causes of GBV include economic imbalance between genders, as men often take advantage of women who are in desperate need of money. He concurred that rape is one of the most common abuses in Africa, and in many instances it is also influenced by economic imbalance too. He highlighted that, consent is very important in this case but some people think that they are entitled to others'bodies.
Additionally, research reveals how inadequate criminalization of rape, weak legal implementation, rape myths, and victim-blaming are just some of the barriers to justice that survivors face. This has been observed by a recently released report on the state of rape laws in Africa by Equality Now. The report further states that these obstacles prevent many cases from reaching court, with even fewer resulting in convictions, allowing the majority of perpetrators to go unpunished.
This is said to leave survivors vulnerable without access to justice and support services they urgently need. The same report by Equality Now that examines rape laws and their enforcement in 47 African countries, further provides an in-depth analysis of other countries including Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, and Zambia.
The report shows that, although some African jurisdictions have implemented progressive rape laws, significant legal, procedural, and societal barriers continue to undermine justice for sexual violence survivors. "Flaws in legal frameworks and deeply entrenched gender discrimination intertwine to foster a culture of impunity for rape, eroding trust in judicial systems, compounding victims’ distress, and fuelling widespread underreporting of sexual violence," it notes.
Human rights lawyer and the report’s lead author, Jean Paul Murunga, says “After examining rape laws across Africa, it is clear that to end impunity for perpetrators, governments urgently need to carry out comprehensive legal reform of rape laws, strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and improve access to justice and support for survivors.”
At some point, Botswana was labeled the rape country, as it recorded more cases of rape than other countries. The country also continues to register more cases of GBV and women and children often fall victims or survivors.
Botswana was applauded for ratifying the Maputo Protocol. It is the latest country to ratify the protocol on December 01,2023, adding to the list of 44 African countries that had ratified it.
It was further highlighted at the training that, despite efforts by some East and South African governments to develop comprehensive strategies for ending violence against women and girls, the progress is still insufficient due to inconsistencies in national laws and gaps in implementation. This is said to possibly be attributed to the slow progress in the domestication of the Maputo protocol despite having been ratified by 45 AU member states, worsened by the lack of accountability of the states towards international bodies, demonstrated by the fact that most do not fulfill their reporting obligations.
In 2021, the African commission on Human and People's Rights adopted Resolution No 92 (LXIX) 2021 on violence against women during Armed Conflicts in Africa which urges state parties and the African Charter to adopt legislative administrative and other measures to prevent and eradicate all forms of violence against women and children in conflict situations.
