If it were between countries, we’d call it a war. If it were a disease, we’d call it an epidemic. If it were an oil spill, we’d call it a disaster. But it’s happening to women, and it’s just an everyday affair. It’s violence against women, or simply, domestic violence. "

This is how Michael Kaufman, an American campaigner against gender-based violence described the degree of attention towards Violence Against Women (VAW) globally.

As the world observes this year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, from 25 November to 10 December, southern African countries should take the opportunity to review and intensify the pace towards realising the goal to prevent and eradicate VAW and children in the sub-region.

Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is a global annual event dedicated to raising awareness around gender-based violence (GBV) as a human rights violation. Originators of the campaign chose the dates of November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (VAW) and December 10, International Human Rights Day, as bookends to the campaign in order to symbolically link VAW with human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights.

This year's theme, "Violence Against Women Violates Human Rights: Maintaining the Momentum Ten Years after Vienna (1993-2003)" seeks to take stock and rejuvenate efforts towards the fight against gender violence in the last decade.

In 1998 SADC Heads of States and Governments clearly declared all forms VAW as crimes in the addendum on the prevention and eradication of VAW and children to the 1997 SADC Declaration on Gender and Development.

The addendum mandates member states in the SADC to formulate, monitor and implement policies and mechanisms to enhance the security and empowerment of women and children at both the national and regional levels.

Notable areas of progress have been registered in the formulation of specific legislation to combat gender-based violence (GBV) since the 1998 addendum. Regrettably, despite the milestones in the legal provisions, domestic and other forms of violence continue to be a menace and a serious violation of the rights of many southern African women and children.

At least one in every five women is beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in some other way, usually by an intimate partner or family member. The region needs to come up with strategies to bridge the gap between law in theory and practice so that legislative provisions adequately address GBV.

Physical violence and battering in homes still falls under the laws relating to common assault in many countries in the region, while many law enforcement officers consider physical VAW by spouses or partners as a family and private affair for the affected family to deal with. This is a challenge that requires decisive intervention.

A lot of cultural practices in the region still condone or tolerate VAW. Justification for violence stems from gender norms - distorted views about the roles and responsibilities of men and women in relationships.

Beyond Inequalities: Women in Southern Africa, a regional gender situation analysis published by the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC) in 2000 revealed that a consistent pattern of events that trigger violent responses include: not obeying the husband, talking back, refusing sex, not having food ready on time, failing to care for the children or home, questioning the man about money or girlfriends, or going somewhere without his permission.

The regional gender report further revealed that the right of a husband to beat or physically intimidate his wife is a deeply held conviction in many societies in southern Africa. Even women often view a certain amount of physical abuse as justified under certain conditions.

Countries such as Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zambia have initiated law and criminal justice reforms and improvements to police training aimed at increasing women's access to effective remedies in cases of rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence.

In Zambia for instance, Victim Support Units (VSU) to deal specifically with cases of rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence have been established at most police stations. Police officers are also being retrained to consider domestic violence as a serious crime.

Lesotho, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe have enacted legislation to deal with sexual offences or specifically domestic violence. The rest of the countries (Angola, Botswana, Malawi, and Zambia) have draft bills that are still going through the process of becoming law, while others have interpreted constitutional provisions and amended existing laws to cover issues of domestic violence.

In Lesotho, a Sexual Offences Act was enacted in April 2003 to protect women and girls. This followed extensive lobbying and advocacy by the human rights groups and the communities. In Zimbabwe, the Sexual Offences Act, which imposes heavy penalties for a host of sexual offences, was signed into law in 2001.

In March 2000, Seychelles passed the Family Violence Protection of Victims Act, which aims to prevent domestic violence and seeks to empower family tribunals established under the Children’s Act to receive applications for protection orders and to make orders that will protect family members and their property against domestic violence.

In Namibia, two Acts were passed in 1999 -- the Combating of Rape Act in early 1999 and the Domestic Violence and Child Maintenance Act by the end of 1999. The Combating of Rape Act redefines rape to include men and boys, and imposes a six-year minimum sentence to offenders. This was in a move to curb the increase of child abuse, particularly among street children.

In Tanzania, a Sexual Offences Special Provision Act was enacted in 1998, as an amendment to the Penal code. The Act contains special provisions regarding rape, unnatural sexual offences, prostitution, trafficking of persons for the purposes of trading in sex, child abuse, sexual exploitation of children, sexual harassment and female genital mutilation.

Mauritius enacted a Domestic Violence Act of 1997, and in 1998 the Criminal Code (amendment) Act was enacted by the National Assembly to provide better protection to women and children. The governments of Malawi and Namibia have in addition, constitutional provisions that make international and regional instruments, once ratified, automatically applicable under domestic law.

While impressive progress has been made in legal systems in SADC, stakeholders still need to intensify efforts to address the cultural practices that heavily contribute to domestic violence even in circumstances where there are adequate legal provisions to deal with the problem. (SARDC - GAD Exchange)

Southern African News Features can be reproduced in print or broadcast with credit to SARDC and the author. SARDC has been reporting on SADC from a regional perspective since 1990.