Global perspectives of Africa: Harnessing the universal periodic review to process sexual and gender-based violence in SADC member states

Global perspectives of Africa: Harnessing the universal periodic review to process sexual and gender-based violence in SADC member states

by | May 1, 2022 | SLR, SLR V33 I1

Global perspectives of Africa: Harnessing the universal periodic review to process sexual and gender-based violence in SADC member states

Authors: SC Vollmer and DT Vollmer

ISSN: 1996-2193
Affiliations: BA (Denver) LLB LLD (Stellenbosch), Associate, Resilient LLP, Ontario; BEng (McMaster) MSc (UOIT), PhD student and CGS-D researcher (York University, Canada)
Source: Stellenbosch Law Review, Volume 33 Issue 1, 2022, p. 8 – 41
https://doi.org/10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a1

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Vollmer, SC and Vollmer, DT
Global perspectives of Africa: Harnessing the universal periodic review to process sexual and gender-based violence in SADC member states
Stellenbosch Law Review, Volume 33 Issue 1, 2022, p. 8 – 41
https://doi.org/10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a1

Abstract

This article examines the responsiveness of the African human rights  system to sexual and gender-based violence (“SGBV”) from a collaborative  framework combining both legal and computational methodologies. This  alternative lens is proposed to address the need for urgent attention to the  increasing SGBV and other human rights violations of persons based on their  real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and expressions, and/  or sex characteristics (“SOGIESC”), as current research has not yet fully  understood the reasons for the enduring gap between the norms and their  implementation. Primarily, the focus of this research provides an intersection  of the (un)responsiveness of the African human rights system to SGBV and  the (in)adequacy of state responses to SGBV, including laws and practices  that exacerbate SGBV, with a focus on the Southern African Development  Community (“SADC”).  The Universal Periodic Review (“UPR”), under the auspices of the United  Nations Human Rights Council, was used to determine to what extent African  states recognise and articulate positions on SGBV – results of which were  used to assess further support through human rights mechanisms under the  African human rights system. This article considers the international human  rights record of African states on the issues of SGBV SOGIESC-based discrimination and violence. Through a systematic evaluation  of the UPR record, the work presented here provides a framework for  developing recommendations and/or observations for an integrated approach  to advancing SOGIESC rights under the African human rights system. An  artefact of the work is the development of a preliminary computational  software program that was demonstrated to have captured trends in the  aforementioned information with increased efficiency, potentially lowering  costs and increasing accessibility. 

Global perspectives of Africa: Harnessing the universal periodic review to process sexual and gender-based violence in SADC member states

The responsivity of the mechanism of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa in combating violence against women

by | May 1, 2022 | SLR, SLR V33 I1

The responsivity of the mechanism of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa in combating violence against women

Authors: Kennedy Kariseb

ISSN: 1996-2193
Affiliations: BJuris LLB (UNAM) LLM LLD (UP), Lecturer, School of Law, University of Namibia
Source: Stellenbosch Law Review, Volume 33 Issue 1, 2022, p. 42 – 56
https://doi.org/10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a2

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Kariseb, K
The responsivity of the mechanism of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa in combating violence against women
Stellenbosch Law Review, Volume 33 Issue 1, 2022, p. 42 – 56
https://doi.org/10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a2

Abstract

By using the mechanism of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women  in Africa (SRRWA) as a matrix, this article assesses the responsivity of the  mechanism of the SRRWA in combating violence against women (“VAW”). The  article argues that the mechanism of the SRRWA has taken up the challenge of  contributing, in a substantive manner, to norms development relating to VAW.  It finds that although VAW is not an explicit thematic area in the mandate  of the SRRWA, compared to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s  special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences,  in practice it features quite distinctly in the work of the mechanism. This is  indicative of the modest focus, response and contribution of the mechanism to  this intractable human rights issue. 

Global perspectives of Africa: Harnessing the universal periodic review to process sexual and gender-based violence in SADC member states

Protecting transgender women within the African human rights system through an inclusive reading of the Maputo Protocol and the proposed Southern African Development Community Gender- Based Violence Model Law

by | May 1, 2022 | SLR, SLR V33 I1

Protecting transgender women within the African human rights system through an inclusive reading of the Maputo Protocol and the proposed Southern African Development Community Gender- Based Violence Model Law

Authors: Tegan Snyman and Annika Rudman

ISSN: 1996-2193
Affiliations: LLB LLM (Stell), PhD candidate, Department of International and European Union Law, Erasmus, University Rotterdam; LLB LLM PhD (Gothenburg), Professor of International Law, Department of Public Law, University of Stellenbosch
Source: Stellenbosch Law Review, Volume 33 Issue 1, 2022, p. 57 – 77
https://doi.org/10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a3

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Snyman, T and Rudman, A
Protecting transgender women within the African human rights system through an inclusive reading of the Maputo Protocol and the proposed Southern African Development Community Gender- Based Violence Model Law
Stellenbosch Law Review, Volume 33 Issue 1, 2022, p. 57 – 77
https://doi.org/10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a3

Abstract

Under Article 1 of the Maputo Protocol “women” are defined as “persons  of the female gender”. Notwithstanding this definition, transgender women,  persons whose gender is female but who were assigned male at birth, are  yet to be recognised or protected under the Protocol. On the contrary, on  the African continent, transgender women are some of the most vulnerable  persons in society. Due to their frequent misidentification as homosexual  men, and widespread criminalisation of homosexuality, these women  are regularly discriminated against and victims of stigma and violence.  Furthermore, because of the denial of their gender identities, these women  are deprived of their legal recognition and subsequent protection of their  human rights. This article considers discrimination against transgender  women and contrasts it with the provisions of the Maputo Protocol. This  article utilises the teleological approach to treaty interpretation, together  with postmodern intersectional feminist legal theory and queer legal theory  as well as fundamental principles of international human rights law such as  dignity, equality and non-discrimination. Finally, the article considers the  recognition and protection of transgender women in light of the proposed  SADC GBV Model Law. 

Global perspectives of Africa: Harnessing the universal periodic review to process sexual and gender-based violence in SADC member states

The Niamey Guidelines to combat sexual violence and its consequences in Africa and sexual harassment: A case study of Nigeria

by | Apr 30, 2022 | SLR, SLR V33 I1

The Niamey Guidelines to combat sexual violence and its consequences in Africa and sexual harassment: A case study of Nigeria

Authors: Ebenezer Durojaye and Temitayo Lawal

ISSN: 1996-2193
Affiliations: LLB (Lagos) LLM LLD (Free State), Head Socio-Economic Rights Project, Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape; LLB (Nigeria) LLM (UWC), Assistant Chief State Counsel, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Unit, Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja, Nigeria
Source: Stellenbosch Law Review, Volume 33 Issue 1, 2022, p. 78 – 99
https://doi.org/10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a4

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Durojaye, E and Lawal, T
The Niamey Guidelines to combat sexual violence and its consequences in Africa and sexual harassment: A case study of Nigeria
Stellenbosch Law Review, Volume 33 Issue 1, 2022, p. 78 – 99
https://doi.org/10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a4

Abstract

This article examines the importance of the provisions of the Niamey  Guidelines to Combat Sexual Violence and its Consequences in addressing  sexual violence, including sexual harassment in Africa. Using Nigeria  as a case study, the article examines the provisions of international and  regional human rights instruments in addressing sexual harassment. It  discusses the Guidelines’ approach to addressing sexual violence, including  sexual harassment. The article highlights some of the salient provisions of  the Niamey Guidelines on sexual violence, which include the obligation of  states to prevent sexual violence, protecting and supporting victims of sexual  violence, investigating and prosecuting sexual violence, ensuring reparation  to implementing international and regional norms on sexual violence at the  national level. The analysis of the Niamey Guidelines vis-à-vis legislation  to address sexual harassment in Nigeria is grounded in asking the woman  question. This refers to how laws, policies and judicial decisions take account  of the lived experiences of women. Thereafter, the article discusses some  of the gaps in the approach by the Nigerian government to address sexual  harassment and offers recommendations for the way forward. 

Global perspectives of Africa: Harnessing the universal periodic review to process sexual and gender-based violence in SADC member states

The legal impunity for gender-based violence against intersex, transgender, and gender diverse persons in Kenya: A legal recognition issue for the African human rights system

by | Apr 30, 2022 | SLR, SLR V33 I1

The legal impunity for gender-based violence against intersex, transgender, and gender diverse persons in Kenya: A legal recognition issue for the African human rights system

Authors: Milka Wahu Kuria and Shelmith Gatwiri Maranya

ISSN: 1996-2193
Affiliations: LLB (University of Nairobi) LLM (Dar es Salaam), Legal Aid Clinic Coordinator, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Founder, Amka Africa Justice Initiative; LLB Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Project Coordinator, Amka Africa Justice Initiative
Source: Stellenbosch Law Review, Volume 33 Issue 1, 2022, p. 100 – 122
https://doi.org/10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a5

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Kuria, MW and Maranya, SG
The legal impunity for gender-based violence against intersex, transgender, and gender diverse persons in Kenya: A legal recognition issue for the African human rights system
Stellenbosch Law Review, Volume 33 Issue 1, 2022, p. 100 – 122
https://doi.org/10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a5

Abstract

In 2019, a judge of the Supreme Court of Kenya issued a public apology  to an intersex person for a decision the court handed down in 2010. The  judge regretted the court’s failure to appreciate the identity and human  rights needs of intersex persons in that case. R.M. had petitioned the High  Court for redress due to the sexual, psychological, and emotional abuse  he had suffered while detained at the state correctional facilities. This case  highlighted the various forms of violence that intersex, transgender, and  gender diverse persons (“ITGDPs”) experience on account of their gender  identity. Studies reveal that gender-based violence against ITGDPs in Kenya  is intricately conjoined with a lack of socio-cultural and legal recognition of  their gender identities. The exclusion engenders pervasive violence by state  actors and private individuals. Despite the growing use of public interest  litigation (“PIL”) as a mechanism for pursuing the goals of legal recognition  and social, economic, and political emancipation of ITGDPs in Kenya, there  is scant improvement in policy and practice. The same lacuna obtains in the  African human rights mechanisms. The apology, the research findings and  the unyielding PIL create the appropriate occasion for a critical examination  of the effects of the assumption on synonymy and binarism of gender and sex  espoused by the national and the African human rights system, on sexual  and gender-based violence (“GBV”) against ITGDPs in Kenya. This article  analyses the nexus and how a lack of legal recognition of ITGDP gender  identities and expression aggravates sexual and GBV against the group  against the backdrop of the African human rights system. 

Global perspectives of Africa: Harnessing the universal periodic review to process sexual and gender-based violence in SADC member states

Role of the police in access to justice for sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated against diverse women in Zimbabwe

by | Apr 30, 2022 | SLR, SLR V33 I1

Role of the police in access to justice for sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated against diverse women in Zimbabwe

Authors: Munatsi Shoko, Kerry Vermaak and Annika Rudman

ISSN: 1996-2193
Affiliations: PhD Candidate, MA Population Studies (UKZN), Lecturer, Nehanda Centre for Gender and Culture Studies, Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo; PhD Public Health, Lecturer, Population Studies Unit, University of KwaZulu-Natal; LLB (Lund), LLM (Lund) PhD (Gothenburg), Professor of International Law, Department of Public Law, University of Stellenbosch
Source: Stellenbosch Law Review, Volume 33 Issue 1, 2022, p. 123 – 138
https://doi.org/10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a6

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Shoko, M, Vermaak, K and Rudman, A
Role of the police in access to justice for sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated against diverse women in Zimbabwe
Stellenbosch Law Review, Volume 33 Issue 1, 2022, p. 123 – 138
https://doi.org/10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a6

Abstract

Bound by the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe (“Zimbabwean Constitution”),  as informed by regional human rights law, Zimbabwean police should facilitate  access to justice for everyone. This article interrogates the lived realities of  diverse women in terms of how the police in Zimbabwe respond when they  report cases of sexual and gender-based violence (“SGBV”). Using qualitative  data this article also interrogates institutional practices questioning the  alignment of laws and actions to the Zimbabwean Constitution. The findings  show that the reluctance of the police to efficiently and appropriately  engage with SGBV cases reported by diverse women is encouraged by the  homophobic context in which these take place. The ability of the police to  provide justice to diverse women who experience SGBV can be strengthened  by repealing the laws that criminalise same-sex relations and sodomy and by  implementing regional human rights law as interpreted through Resolution  275 of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights.