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10 December 2020 | Story Sibongile Madlala | Photo Supplied
Sibongile Mdlala End of Gender-based Violence
Sibongile Madlala believes it is time to get every single South African involved in the fight to eradicate gender-based violence and not to look away or to stand on the side-line watching.

Sibongile Madlala, Crime Investigations Officer in Protection Services, believes it is time to get every single South African – especially boys and men – involved in the fight to eradicate gender-based violence and not to look away or to stand on the side-line watching.


“It is a time to observe that to date, gender-based violence awareness messages still promote the idea that it only affects women and children (girls) and to a certain extent ignores the plight of the LGBTIQ community, men and boys,” she says.

Report, do not keep quiet

It is time for the government and other relevant stakeholders to do everything possible to establish the root causes of GBV. She feels it is necessary to pay attention to and address matters such as mental health (of the offender and the victim/survivor), victim-offender overlap, patriarchal lines, and cultural practices that perpetuate gender inequalities.

“Government also need to observe the value of training officers of the law and the justice department, as it takes a special kind of person to deal and assist victims accordingly,” she says. 
 

Madlala is convinced that the criminal justice system needs to revisit the laws, policies, and systems that are dealing with gender-based violence-related matters, as it is failing the victims. “It is unfair to expect a victim to recount every single intimate detail in chronological order; it is also unfair to expect a minor or a mentally challenged person to stand in a box facing the perpetrator as they lead evidence over a lengthened period. The failure to implement child-friendly facilities is not acceptable,” she adds. 

“It is said that knowledge is power, and
I believe the sooner this pandemic is understood
by the victims, perpetrators, and handlers
— the sooner we will see some changes in this regard.”
—Sibongile Madlala

Dealing with perpetrators

There is a National Sexual Offenders register in which the names of all prosecuted offenders are listed when they are found guilty. In dealing with perpetrators, she suggests a similar national offender register for gender-based violence offenders. “It is important that offenders are known, as those who need to protect are sometimes abusers themselves,” says Madlala.

The 16 days of activism is a time to let everybody know that gender-based violence is not a private matter. “It is said that knowledge is power, and I believe that the sooner this pandemic is understood by the victims, perpetrators, and handlers – the sooner we will see some changes in this regard.” 

She deems it important that victims are taught the importance of reporting and not protecting the abuser, and she emphasises the significance of ensuring that the voices of survivors, activists, and those mandated to address these matters at grassroots level are amplified and listened to.

Madlala sees this period as a celebration of survivors, the victors, heroes and heroines, young and old – especially those who have chosen to speak out about their traumatic experiences, knowing that the response may be negative.
 
“It is a time to commemorate all victims of gender-based violence and to raise awareness, stimulate advocacy efforts, and share knowledge on this topic,” she says.

It is time …

News Archive

Short course in Applied Conservation Genetics developed at UFS
2014-08-22

 

Photo: en.wikipedia.org

During discussions with stakeholders in Kenya in 2013, a need was identified for training in conservation genetics with an African emphasis. In answer, Prof Paul Grobler from the Department of Genetics developed a short course in Applied Conservation Genetics.

Some of the phenomena studied in this field include:
• hybridisation between species such as blue wildebeest and black wildebeest,
• wildlife poaching and
• potential inbreeding in small game-farm populations.

From the onset, the course has been developed as an international venture. To this end, Dr Frank Zachos from the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria, committed himself to the project. Dr Jamie Roberts from the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech University in the USA also came on board. Both pledged their time and expertise to the course – without any financial gain.

Subsequently, our Department of Genetics presented this short course at the National Zoological Gardens (NZG) in Pretoria earlier this year. The team of presenters included Prof Grobler, Dr Zachos and Dr Roberts. They were joined by Dr Desire Dalton from the Research Division of the NZG, who added valuable practical experience to the presentations.

The course assumes a degree of prior knowledge of population and molecular genetics. A strong emphasis is placed on practical applications. The programme includes a strong component of statistics and hands-on training in the many approaches and software used in population genetics.

The group that attended the course included a contingent from the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Dutch postgraduate students currently working at the University of Johannesburg and delegates from across South Africa.

This successful meeting followed an experimental first round of the course presented in Nairobi during 2013, attended by representatives from Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Mexico and Belgium.


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