Violence Against Women Has Reached a Crisis Point in Southern Africa

November 16, 2009

Combatting Violence Against Women in Southern Africa (November 9, 2009)

Gender-based violence knows no boundaries—it happens everywhere—at home and at work, on the streets and in schools, during peacetime and in conflict. It touches every country within the Southern African Development Community. However, recent trends indicate that it has reached crisis points in countries like Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Madagascar, and Tanzania.

While the community has adopted the Gender and Development Protocol, which provides accountability for crimes of violence against women, and the Southern African Development Community Tribunal, which has a mandate to prosecute perpetrators of crimes—community members are not upholding their agreements.

Open Society and WITNESS cosponsored a recent discussion on violence against women in the region and the role of member states in ending it. Listen above.

Topics

Women’s Rights

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