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Commission for Gender Equality

Commission for Gender Equality. PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON WOMEN PRESENTATIONS ON CGE RESEARCH REPORTS 21 St APRIL 2015 Research Department Commission for Gender Equality. CONTENTS. 1. Mainstreaming Gender in the Public Service (2013)

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Commission for Gender Equality

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  1. Commission for Gender Equality PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON WOMEN PRESENTATIONS ON CGE RESEARCH REPORTS 21St APRIL 2015 Research Department Commission for Gender Equality

  2. CONTENTS 1. Mainstreaming Gender in the Public Service (2013) (Reviewing Progress in the Depts. Police & Science and Technology) 2. Assessing Effectiveness of Gender Focal Points in South Africa (2013) 3. ‘Out of Mind, Out of Sight’ (2013) (Reviewing Implementation of the 365 Days of Action To End Violence Against Women and Children) 4. ‘Expectations Unfulfilled’ (2013) (Assessing effectiveness of the National Council On Gender Based Violence) 5. From Rhetoric to Gender Reality (2014) (Women’s participation & representation in South Africa’s 2014 Elections)

  3. Report 1 Mainstreaming Gender in the Public Service (Reviewing Progress in the Depts. Police & Science and Technology) (2013)

  4. A. Department of Science and Technology (DST)OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Focus on efforts to promote gender mainstreaming through internal departmental processes, practices, structures and procedures 1. Organisational /Institutional Personnel Profile • While males are still dominant, there was evidence of significant progress in the involvement of women in senior level decision making structures. • There was significant representation of women in senior management structures • We did notice evidence of a slight decrease in the number of women in senior level structures (from just over 20% in 2012 to just under 10% in 2013) • Nonetheless this was accompanied by an increase in the representation of women in the middle and senior management levels

  5. A. Department of Science and Technology (cont.)OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS: • Information obtained during the study showed that there were 15 female senior managers compared to 13 males • At middle level management, there were 12 females and 11 male managers • In the professional and technical expert services, it was found that there were more women (120) compared to men (90) • Also, in terms of overall departmental staff gender profile, 46% of the personnel were women while 54% were men • So in general the balance between male and female representation is significantly close

  6. A. Department of Science and Technology (cont.)OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS: 2. Enabling Environment For Gender Mainstreaming: • The Department has a progressive leadership that has put in place a number of internal structures to address issues of gender mainstreaming, policy and practice • E.g.: Established a Women in Management Forum, which serves to prioritise issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment at management level • A Men’s Forum was also established to deal with issues of concern for gender equality • A thoroughgoing internal review of current internal policies and employee gender profile • Employment equity audit undertaken in 2010 focussing on women in management • The GFP participate Senior Level Management Structures, which provides an opportunity to place gender issues on the agenda of senior managers

  7. A. Department of Science and Technology (cont.)OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS: 3. Budgeting For Gender Mainstreaming: • Department insists its budgeting process is gender sensitive • Not sufficient information was provided to examine and understand how the budget prioritises gender issues/programmes • However some the information provided shows the following: • The department makes provision for post graduate bursaries and research grants, which target both men and women,

  8. A. Department of Science and Technology (cont.)OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS: • However the figures obtained show that more males (3,214) than females (2,968) were the beneficiaries of the post-graduate research funds • Also for research grants, more males (3,079) compared to females (1,044) benefited from research grants • The department did identify other areas were women are specifically target in the budget planning process, such as Women’s Day and the allocations of funds from the Thuthuka Research Grant.

  9. A. Department of Science and Technology (cont.)OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS: 1. Organisational /Institutional Personnel Profile • Policing in South Africa and the world over has historically been a male-dominated profession. • However the SAPS, like all other state institutions, is obliged to comply with and implement national policy and legislative frameworks to promote gender equality and empower of women

  10. B. South African Police Service (SAPS)OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Women have begun to enter the profession in increasing numbers, but their representation is still woefully inadequate, including in the senior ranks (Supervision and Commander ranks) of the SAPS • Currently led by the first female national Police Commissioner leading a predominantly male team of senior managers/officers at national level • Figures obtained from the SAPS shows representation of women in SAPS stands at only 34.66% (way below 50% target) • At national level, top SAPS leadership comprises 8 female officers versus 15 males

  11. B. South African Police Service (SAPS)OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • In terms of overall gender profile for the SAPS, available information showed 132,221 (63.73%) males versus 8,485 (36.27%) females • Commander positions at national level – out of a total of 618, only 90 (14.6) were female Commanders • Provincial level • Branch Commanders (total =192) – Only 22 (11.5%) were female Commanders • Station Commanders (total = 192) – only 35 (18.3%) were female Station Commanders • Visible Policing Heads (total = 192) – only 21 (11%) were females • However in terms of Support services, available information shows 3,703 (60%) females compared to 2,535 (40%) males – concentration of females in the lower job category/rank • These figures show a significant level of male domination in policing as a profession

  12. B. South African Police Service (SAPS)OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS 2. Enabling Environment For Gender Mainstreaming: • The SAPS’s current representation of women in the service is 34,66%. • The following activities were identified by the SAPS as efforts to meet gender equity and gender representation imperatives: • 50% of recruitment in the cyber crime and commercial units consists of women • 14 women in the SAPS special task force and twelve women pilots recruited • Empowerment workshops have been conducted across provinces and divisions to empower women to compete equally with their male counterparts for promotion opportunities

  13. B. South African Police Service (SAPS)OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Established a Women’s network that facilitates a mentorship programme for women on the job training • 70% of positions in the middle management level reserved for women in order to improve mobility to the more senior positions • An executive development programme put in place for senior managers, catering for the previously disadvantaged group (including women) • 60% of the beneficiaries of the annual bursaries are women.

  14. B. South African Police Service (SAPS)OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • The SAPS has put in place these strategies creating an opportunity for upward mobility especially for women; • The findings however indicate that even though such measures are in place, women do not take such opportunities because such positions coincide with their care role; • According to SAPS, women are reluctant to apply, hence remain at the lower levels; • This has led to the SAPS not making much progress in terms of women’s participation in the middle and senior level decision making structures, as well as budget and planning processes.

  15. B. South African Police Service (SAPS)OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS 3. Budgeting For Gender Mainstreaming: • The study did not manage to obtain information relating to how gender sensitive the SAPS budget was or in what ways gender is prioritised in the budget planning processes • However the SAPS does insist that funds were earmarked for various programmes and projects to advance the interests of women.

  16. Report 2 Assessing The Effectiveness of Gender Focal Points in South Africa (2013)

  17. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY • To determine the current status of GFPs in government departments at national, provincial and local levels • To assess the institutional capacity (i.e. skills, financial and other resources) to perform their functions. • Assess the effectiveness of GFPs in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in government.

  18. METHODOLOGY/APPROACH • This study was conducted using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. • An opinion survey questionnaire was used for national, provincial & local govt. • Questions on issues like recruitment processes for GFPs; capacity, skills and resources; roles and functions; effectiveness and impact, as well as the future of GFPs. • 15 national departments. • 21 provincial departments • 6 municipalities. • In-depth interviews with informants, especially senior officials, from selected national and provincial departments.

  19. METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH (cont.) • The interviews focused on the following key areas: • Employment/recruitment processes. • The location of GFPs in their departments. • Capacity and skills for gender mainstreaming. • Budget/resource allocations and reporting lines/accountability.

  20. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS Status of employment, conditions and related processes • GFPs are generally located in units that are responsible for, and burdened with, performing functions unrelated to gender mainstreaming. • GFPs are spending between 26% and 100% of their time on work unrelated to gender mainstreaming. • In most cases people appointed to these positions do not have the necessary skills Formal accountability/reporting lines for GFP • Majority of GFPs are appointed at the lower ranks of the public service, in direct contradiction of the prescriptions of the NGPF.

  21. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • The largest number (41%) of GFPs was appointed at the rank Deputy Directors • 27% were appointed as Directors, • 14% appointed as Assistant Directors • 9% appointed as Chief Directors • Therefore 73% of GFPs who participated were appointed below the prescribed minimum rank of Director

  22. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS Official Designations of respondents

  23. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS Qualifications of GFP’s

  24. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS Capacity and relevant skills development/training of staff • Many GFPs lack the necessary skills and expertise to drive gender mainstreaming effectively in the public service. • There are more vacancies in the post of GFP at national level than at provincial level (caution: the sample size and response rate limited). • The provincial government has the highest proportion of respondents indicating that their GFP posts were filled at 73.7%. • For the national government the figure was 60% • Many GFPs possessed the type of skills not relevant to gender mainstreaming.

  25. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • National departments are likely to have larger staffs responsible for gender mainstreaming compared to the provincial and local government. • The average figures are as follows: • At national government level: 5 people. • At provincial government level:3 people • At local government level: 4 people (Caution: response rate small) Overall, gender mainstreaming responsibilities are carried out by units with sizes of between 1 and 6 people.

  26. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS Effectiveness/Impact of GFPs • Respondents to the survey questionnaires were asked to rate the effectiveness and impact of GFPs in gender mainstreaming using the following scale: • 1:very ineffective • 2: ineffective • 3: effective • 4: very effective.

  27. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • The following are the ratings received: (Ref. page 31 research report) • Provincial GFPs (3.00) and local governments GFPs (2.50) were rated most effective in coordinating gender mainstreaming activities within their departments • National GFPs were rated most effective (2.93) in promoting effective collaboration with external role players (e.g. civil society) and (2.93) promoting effective collaboration on gender mainstreaming between departments

  28. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • The following were the three key factors identified as undermining the effectiveness of GFPs at different levels of government: • (Scale: 1=disagree strongly, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=agree strongly) • At National Government Level: • Inadequate financial resources: (3.07) • Lack of understanding of the functions of the GFP by departmental management (2.60) • No policy guidelines on the role of GFP in the department(2.33) • At provincial level: • Inadequate financial resources (4.19) • Inadequate skills (3.29) • Lack of knowledge of gender policies and legislation (3.24)

  29. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • At Municipality Level: • Lack of adequate financial resources (3.75) • No proper job description for the post of GFP (3.75) • Lack of regular performance evaluation/assessment of the GFP (3.50)

  30. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Budget/Resources for Gender Mainstreaming • Just over half (51%) of respondents said their departments had a dedicated budget for gender mainstreaming

  31. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • The rest of the respondents either said the department did not have a gender sensitive budget; or did not know, or failed to respond to the question. • Moreover, a higher number of national respondents (66.7%) said their departments had a gender sensitive budget, compared to only 42.1% at provincial level. • However this finding should be treated with care as in many instances the respondents often referred to budgets for special operations under which a variety of functions are covered (e.g. women, youth, disabled, elderly & commemoration events such as Women’s Day celebrations) • Nonetheless, this finding appears to suggest that there is either lack of knowledge among officials or failure by departments to disseminate information regarding allocation of resources towards gender mainstreaming.

  32. Report 3 Out of Mind, Out of Sight (365 Days of Action Plan To End Violence Against Women and Children) (2013)

  33. BACKGROUND • Agreed and Developed as 5 Year (2007-2011) National Action Plan (NAP) – outcome of the Kopanong Declaration of 2006 • Multi-sectoral/Stakeholder national action plan to deal with gender based violence: • Prevention • Support • Response

  34. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY • Objectives of CGE Review/Evaluation • Determine progress in implementation • Determine effectiveness of programmes in place • Identify constraints to implementation • Study revealed two broad categories of constraints: • Systemic/structural issues • Operational issues

  35. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Systemic/Structural Issues: • Poor coordination of implementation of NAP • Failure of effective cooperation and collaboration between government and CSOs • Failure to achieve effective coordination/collaboration among government institutions/stakeholders (IDMT) • CSOs felt excluded from NAP implementation (lack of resources and lack of consultation by government departments) • Budgetary/Funding Issues • State departments not taking NAP objectives into strategic plans and budgets • Lack of funding allocations/ limited progress in implementation of NAP

  36. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Poor Planning for NAP related activities • Failure of departments to integrate NAP objectives into strategic plans & resource allocations • Lack of clear role allocation/lines of accountability for stakeholders • More resources focussed on VEP (by Dept. Justice) and less on the NAP • Capacity Issues • Programme Management Unit (PMU) lacked institutional capacity to manage/coordinate nationally • PMU relying on consultants due to lack of capacity to coordinate/manage the program • No capacity for systematic monitoring and evaluation of progress implementing NAP

  37. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Operational Issues • NAP operations clustered around 3 pillars (Prevention, Support & Response) • Prevention: • NAP related social services not effectively communicated to those who needed them • CSOs generally more pro-active in work in line with objectives of the NAP (e.g. Sonke Gender Justice) • NPA carried out good work training Traditional leaders on Domestic Violence Act (impact not assessed) • NPA developed a training manual for reference (poor dissemination)

  38. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Dept. Education developed materials on raising awareness on sexual violence in schools • Media increasingly playing a role in reporting on gender issues/gender based violence • More focus by media on gender issues during 16 Days of Activism Campaigns • Support • Majority of victims of crime economically vulnerable • Many (41%) victims dependent on perpetrators of domestic violence • Limited economic empowerment opportunities for women/victims of domestic violence to break cycle of dependency • More shelters for abused women being established across the country (but most shelters fail to meet standards of service in line with Victims Charter) • SAPS established Victim Empowerment Centres and trained officials on Domestic Violence Act and sexual offences

  39. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Some gains – amendments to relevant legislative frameworks on children’s rights (e.g. Children’s Amendment Act 2007; Child Justice Act 2009) • However system of protection for children uncoordinated lacking clear provincial and district leadership • Lack of record keeping/ineffective information management and reporting to the child protection register • Response: • Positive legislative developments to ensure access to justice for women and children (e.g. Sexual Offences and Related Matters Act 2007) • Positive legislative & policy developments not matched by effective implementation (mainly by police and courts) • Prosecution of gender based violence cases generally difficult

  40. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Knowledge of Victims Charter among relevant state institutions (courts and SAPS) often limited, thus undermining effective responses • Shortages of magistrates, delays in process of court cases • Shortage of resources/transport to transport victims to places of safety • Absence of anti-rape strategy in most SAPS Police Stations • Limited knowledge of Victims Charter, leads to secondary victimisation (e.g. lack of privacy and confidentiality in some community service centres) • Limited number of Care Centres especially in areas of high sexual violence

  41. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • NAP implementation was generally unsuccessful, with limited achievements of NAP objectives • Need to review the NAP (after 5 year cycle ended in 2011)

  42. Report 4 ‘Expectations Unfulfilled’ (Assessing effectiveness of the National Council On Gender Based Violence) (2013)

  43. GBV COUNCIL: BACKGROUND • Established in 2012 – In line CEDAW General Recommendation 19 (on Gender based Violence) • Multi-sectoral/stakeholder structure to coordinate implementation of policy/regulatory frameworks & Programmes on GBV • Review/revive/re-launch the NAP (365 Days of Action to End Violence) • Membership – government, CSOs, CGE, etc.

  44. GBV COUNCIL: BACKGROUND • Establishment NCGBV a positive development (bringing together key stakeholders (& donors) to deal with GBV • Institutional response to continued high levels of GBV • CGE Monitoring Objectives • Monitored in 2013, (continued in 2014) • Assess effectiveness of NCGBV fulfilling its mandate • Review/assess programme implementation

  45. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Identified structural & operational/programme issues affecting effectiveness of NCGBV: • Structural Issues • Institutional internal weaknesses – new structure (problems setting up internal structures, policies, plans/strategies and programmes) • Unresolved internal leadership issues, independence & institutional direction of NCGBV hampering effectiveness • Lack of clarity on relations with DWCPD

  46. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Lack of institutional capacity to coordinate national programmes on GBV • Unresolved funding limitations (state support and donor funding) • Lack of direction on the way forward on the 365 Days of Action to End Violence against Women and Children (NAP 5 year cycle ended 2011) • Persistent conflicts amongst primary stakeholders (government & civil society) • Weak secretariat/administrative support - NCGBV lacked own administrative component (& Late recruitment of CEO) • Unresolved issues relating to transparency on financial reporting/accountability to stakeholders

  47. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Operational/Programme issues • Weak internal structures & late recruitment of CEO led to lack of capacity for strategic/programme planning • No clear/comprehensive operational programme, plans and budget • NCGBV Programme initiatives • Review the NAP of the 365 Days of Action To End Violence Against Women and Children (review done very late in 2013) • Developing the National Strategic Plan (NSP) – not yet developed • National ‘Vikela Mzanzi’ Campaign (flagship programme to publicise the NCGBV) – campaign lacked budget/resources & was never launched officially • Know Your Epidemic Study (measuring extent of GBV in SA) – findings never disseminated

  48. OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS • Root Causes Study – conducted by government departments to inform development of NSP • Council needs to be reviewed (institutional & Legal status, powers, functions & relations with Ministry for Women) • Clarity needed on the financial/budgetary support & independence of the Council

  49. Report 5 From Rhetoric to Gender Reality (Women’s Participation and Representation in South Africa’s 2014 Elections) (2014)

  50. Background/Frameworks • SA Constitution chapter 2 (9) on equality: “state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds including race, gender, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.” • Article 7 of CEDAW provides for states to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and to ensure women enjoy equal right to vote and participate in processes of governance • Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provide that every citizen shall have the right and opportunity to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic election

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