Rape Crisis Cape Town Quarterly Report

FOCUS ON ADVOCACY

Approximately four years ago, a clear decision was taken by Rape Crisis Cape Town to more proactively challenge government policy on violence against women and the secondary victimisation experienced by rape survivors, and the foundations of our advocacy work were laid.

A new mood and a new methodology of work accompanied the birth of the "new" democratic South Africa in 1994. The Bill of Rights and the new Constitution were being written, and Rape Crisis Cape Town saw that it had a role in enshrining women’s rights within these documents and in ensuring that women were informed as to what their rights were. Soon afterwards, the work of challenging existing legislation began, and this is ongoing as South Africa moves away from its past and into a future where human rights and women’s rights, and the rights of the survivors of sexual abuse, are recognised and guaranteed.

In planning for the three-year period starting on 1 April 1998, advocacy work was formally incorporated into programme delivery, and, once funding is secured, an Advocacy and Campaigning Department will be founded within the organisation, with a paid staff member at its head.

Broadly speaking this involves addressing current law (both common law and statutory legislation) which pertains to violence against women, assessing the effectiveness of these laws and making proposed amendments to those current laws. Examples of this include the present common law cautionary rule in sexual offences cases, and section 170A of the Criminal Procedure Act which concerns the use of intermediaries in a sexual assault trial and is limited in its application as it is only available to complainants under the age of 18 years. In addition to this, given that there is a lack of legal protection from violence for women, there is a dire need for new legislation and policies to address these inadequacies. We are currently in the process of drawing up proposed legislation and policy to address these specific gaps.

The methodology used to effect these changes varies depending on a number of factors, but generally submissions are made to various Portfolio Committees in Parliament, to Ministries, to government departments, to the South African Law Commission, the Human Rights Commission and the Commission of Gender Equality. The advocacy aspect of the work then involves following up on submissions and the attempt to ensure that changes are implemented. Our work is done within the framework of a multi-agency integrated approach which necessitates the incorporation of experiences and information from the other departments of our organisation, especially that of counselling, so that our work is constantly informed by the real experiences of women who are affected by the extremely high levels of violence in South Africa. We are also committed to networking with other organisations and structures in order to share information and skills and to participate in joint projects to present a more united voice on these issues.

Another aspect of this work is in direct service delivery to sexual assault survivors in the form of thorough court preparation for women who have chosen to enter the criminal justice system and have laid charges against the perpetrator.. This programme involves informing women of the legal procedures in court and what will be expected of them, as well as dealing with the merits of each case.

The staff member who is doing this work has the following responsibilities:

• interfacing and networking with Ministries and State Departments of Government, and networks within civil society to address sexual assault;


• addressing legislation and policy affecting violence against women making use of structures including, but not limited to, Parliament (Portfolio Committees), Ministries, State Departments, the South African Law Commission;
• participating in collaborative work with appropriate NGO's and other agencies to influence legislation and policy relating to violence against women, and more specifically, to sexual assault;
• development and management of training programmes, manuals and materials for criminal justice system personnel;
• development and management of the Court Preparation Programme for sexual assault survivors who enter into the criminal justice system, as well as direct service delivery to survivors.

With the establishment of a Department to deal with advocacy work, several critical areas are to be given attention over the next three years:

• re-drafting of legislation pertaining to sexual offences
• formulating appropriate policy regarding the provision and delivery of state forensic services
• formulating policy appropriate to criminal justice service delivery to survivors of gang-related sexual violence
• formulating appropriate legislation, policy and programmes for the implementation of ‘victim’ empowerment services within the framework of South Africa’s National Crime Prevention Strategy
• ongoing input into the development, implementation and assessment of specialised state services
• supervision for criminal justice personnel dealing with violence against women
• integrating gender violence awareness into school curriculum development
• formally integrating RCCT lectures on violence against women into the course work of law, medical, social work and nursing university students
• the provision of court preparation and counselling service programmes at courts
• campaigning for the use of and access to existing complaint mechanisms i.e. the Human Rights Commission, the Office of the Public Protector, the Commission for Gender Equality and the Independent Complaints Directorate

• Theme Committee 4 of the Constitutional Assembly on Fundamental Rights for the formation of the Final Constitution
• Portfolio Committee on Health on the Termination of Pregnancy Bill
• Portfolio Committee on Justice hearings on violence against women
• Portfolio Committee on Justice hearings on Bail
• Ad Hoc Portfolio Committee on the Quality of Life and Status of Women
• The Police Act
• South African Law Commission Discussion Paper on Domestic Violence
• Commission on Gender Equality
• South African Law Commission Issue Paper on Sexual Offences Against Children
• Various Criminal Law Amendment Bills
• Tshwaranang Legal Manual
• National Guidelines for the treatment of the Victims of Sexual Assault
• Participation in the CEDAW NGO "Shadow Report"

• The Western Cape Network on Violence Against Women
• National Network on Violence Against Women
• Western Cape (South African Police Service and NGO) Task Group on Violence Against Women and Victim Empowerment
• The ANC Parliamentary Women’s Caucus and Civil Society Task Teams
• The Reproductive Rights Alliance - both national and provincial
• The Joint Forum on Policing
• The Police Training Network
• Western Cape Anti Crime Forum
• Institute of Criminology, UCT
• Community Law Centre, UWC
• Department of Justice Study Tour to Canada
• RRA Legal Working Group

OTHER NEWS FROM RAPE CRISIS CAPE TOWN

The "new Rape Crisis Cape Town"

In October 1996, Rape Crisis Cape Town appointed the first Director. Then, early in 1997, an external evaluation of the organisation was conducted at the behest of one of the organisation’s larger funders. In addition, both the work and the budget of the organisation had increased significantly, and it was clear that this would be an ongoing trend. These events clarified for the organisation that it had reached a point where decisions made in 1995 concerning the establishment of an external Board and registration as either a Trust or a Section 21 Company needed to be implemented.

In May 1997, under the guidance of an experienced Organisational Development practitioner, a series of workshops was embarked upon, culminating in decisions about the form of the "new" Rape Crisis Cape Town, and programme planning for the next three years.

It is intended that the new structure of Rape Crisis Cape Town (RCCT) will be in place by the beginning of the next financial year, i.e. by 1 April 1998, or as soon afterwards as possible.

The organisation is to constitute itself as a Trust to be called the Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust, with an independent Board of Trustees whose role will be what is normally understood as the role of the Board in a non-profit organisation.

Internal Management will now, more appropriately, be the responsibility of a team comprising senior staff members.

Trip to the USA

In November, the Director and a staff member, Shafieka Moos, went on a trip to the USA, paid for by the Diana Foundation, for which we thank them most sincerely. The trip had three purposes: to attend the National Centre For Non-Profit Boards Annual Conference in Washington DC, to visit potential USA funders in New York, and to network with similar USA organisations in New York. It was successful on all three counts, and a valuable learning experience for both Carol and Shafieka.

Visitors to Rape Crisis Cape Town

As usual, there were several visitors during the period under review. Several nursing and medical students wished to find out about our services and resources; Josette Cole of Oxfam-Novib (one of our funders) paid a call; two members of Swazi Action Group Against Abuse visited for a couple of days to find out more about setting up a similar centre in Swaziland.

Volunteer News

Volunteers were, as always, involved in all aspects of the work of Rape Crisis Cape Town:

• one did a wonderful job of sorting our resources room into a place where the wealth of material we have accumulated is more readily accessible, both to the organisation and to the many people who ask us for information;
• another has been instrumental in developing an excellent training programme for police personnel;
• sterling work was done managing the implementation of the changed structure during the Director’s absence in the USA and on leave;
• the writing of the reports which grew out of the series of workshops in which the organisation decided on its new structure was vital to not only track the processes involved, but also to keep everyone informed of the decisions taken;
• the first training courses for 1998 were planned in conjunction with many volunteers, who will also facilitate the training;
• the counselling and public education work was, as always, conducted almost entirely by volunteers;
• the counselling lines are always staffed by volunteers;
• a voluntary member keeps the garden beautiful;
• management of the organisation in the period as we move toward a Board of Trustees is in the hands of volunteers, who meet after hours to ensure that Rape Crisis Cape Town functions well;
• participation in various campaigns and events also drew in a number of volunteer members.

To acknowledge the contribution of volunteers, and their critical role in the functioning of Rape Crisis Cape Town, a very successful end-of-year party was held in December.

In the last three months, Rape Crisis Cape Town counselling statistics were:

New clients: 55
Face-to-face sessions: 136
Telephone counselling: 502
After-hours service: 75
Court preparation: 2

A recent press report, based on information collated by the S.A Institute for Race Relations, showed an overall decrease in crime in South Africa of about 2% per capita. The exceptions included (significantly!) rape and indecent assault. It also emerged that South Africa has a significantly higher rate of violent crime than other Western countries, and that crime in South Africa is often area specific. In particular, metropolitan Cape Town has an inordinately high crime rate. Given that we work predominantly in that area, and that rape is a crime of violence, there is clearly still much work to do.

Observatory:
Counselling - 479 762
Admin - 471 467
TPA - 471 467
Fax - 475 458

Khayelitsha:
Counselling - 361 9085
Admin - 361 9288
TPA - 361 9288
Fax - 361 0529

Heideveld:
All matters - 637 9431
Fax - 637 9432

e-mail: rpcrisis@iafrica.com

Without the ongoing support of our funders and friends, the work we do would not be possible.

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