Civil society responds to sexual violence

The Eastern Cape advocacy workshop was held from 11 to 12 November 2014 in East London and was hosted by the Shukumisa Campaign and the Community Law Centre. The main purpose of the 2 day workshop was to develop collaborative advocacy strategies to respond to sexual violence on provincial level in the Eastern Cape. Participants consisted of individuals and representatives from various organisations and structures working with survivors of sexual violence from across the province.

On day 1 of the workshop the participants reflected on the importance of working on sexual offences and shared their experiences and the challenges they face working in this field. The participants also engaged with gaps and weaknesses in the policy framework for sexual offences in South Africa. The second half of the day was facilitated by Sonke Gender Justice as part of their national process for obtaining input regarding the National Strategic Plan for Gender Based Violence.

Day 2 of the workshop was dedicated to identifying advocacy priorities regarding sexual offences for the Eastern Cape and developing strategies and action plans. The participants identified four priority areas: traditional leaders; law and policy; police and health. They established working groups for the various priority areas and elected a provincial Shukumisa committee to coordinate and drive the work with support from the Community Law Centre.