PROJECT SYNDICATE
This week, PS talks with Tlaleng Mofokeng, a member of the Commission for Gender Equality in South Africa and an expert in sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Project Syndicate: Modern development strategies, you wrote in February, “fail to recognize the need for concerted action to protect women from violence and uphold the rights of victims.” During COVID-19 lockdowns, violence against women has surged. How might strategies to combat COVID-19 spur broader improvement in protecting women from violence?
Tlaleng Mofokeng: All relevant investments included in those strategies – from health care to social safety nets – must explicitly acknowledge and address gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). Crucially, they must protect all women, regardless of age, physical location, disability, sexual orientation, sexual and gender identity, gender expression, nationality, or any other factor. Violence against children is inextricable from this issue.In other words, COVID-19 strategies must be explicitly and purposefully intersectional, incorporating a multi-disciplinary approach to violence prevention, as well as survivor support, justice, and healing. Finally, policymakers must ensure that adequate resources are immediately allocated to this cause.
Project Syndicate for more