Masimanyane is conducting a research project to assess women's position within the justice system, as it relates to violations of their human rights. A part of the project includes creating a directory for the Eastern Cape province. This directory will provide information on existing NGO/CBO's, women's groups, government agencies, hospitals and clinics, and religious organizations available to support victims of gender violence. The primary information will be telephone and fax numbers, mailing addresses, e-mail addresses, and the services they specialize in.

The secondary information will include the service areas, the hours of operation, the languages accommodated, and an estimate of the number of clients they service per day. In addition, the directory will offer a brief description of the staff, such as the number of people working/volunteering. Ideally the directory will be published within the first quarter of 1998, and it will be listed in English, Xhosa, and Afrikaans. Once a year the directory will be updated to list any other institutions. Upon completing the directory we anticipate being able to identify which areas do not have access to services.

There will also be a special focus on rural parts of the province, which are recognized areas where women are in desperate need of services, which they are unable to obtain. The directory will be a compilation of the services provided in the Eastern Cape Province for victims and survivors of rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence. There is a dual purpose for the directory:

1. to make women aware of the services available to them, their location, and how to access them, and
2. to connect the various organizations, ranging from government agencies to women's support groups that focus on combating violence against women.

Hopefully through networking between these organizations each institution will benefit from suggestions to improve itself, as well as provide a more efficient way to disseminate information, specifically concerning human rights, amongst one another. In an effort to produce a comprehensive list of all the institutions providing services to women throughout the Eastern Cape, the Masimanyane research team will need help from other organizations in various parts of the province.

The team should be able to complete the directory by the end of the year, but no later than February, with the help of contact persons in other organizations. The contact persons would be expected to compile a list of all the institutions in their surrounding area, along with all the primary and secondary information listed above. However, all the information gathered will not appear in the directory; it may be used for other areas of our ongoing research. The plan of action is as follows:

Aims /Objectives

1. To produce a comprehensive list of all the institutions providing services to the victims and survivors of gender violence.

The list of institutions will include…

• Non- governmental organisations- NGO's
• Community- based organisations- CBO's
• Justice and social workers
• Resource centres
• Medical institutions
• Religious Associations
• Women's groups
• Educational programmes

The major incentive for completing this project as soon as possible is to create a more efficient means of communication amongst all the institutions. It will better equip each institution to assist women with comprehensive information of all services available to them. Once the directory is complete, NGO's can use it as a lobbying tool to bring attention to the areas that are not being provided with adequate services, especially rural areas.

Therefore we are inviting all organizations for the eradication of violence against women to champion this cause, and make a contribution by returning the enclosed questionnaire as soon as possible. Thank you for your support.
Click here to download the questionnaire