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Exciting News at Sonke
Dean Peacock, Sonke's Founding Director, selected for prestigious Ashoka Fellowship
Sonke is excited to announce the selection of Executive Director Dean Peacock to the prestigious Ashoka Fellowship. The Ashoka award is a prestigious award made to just 8 people in South Africa in 2013 and recognises leading social entrepreneurs who have innovative solutions to social problems and the potential to change patterns across society. "They demonstrate unrivaled commitment to bold new ideas and prove that compassion, creativity, and collaboration are tremendous forces for change."
Dean joins a small but powerful group of NGO leaders, political figures and private sector pioneers in receiving the fellowship, in large part because of his work as a co-founder and Executive Director of Sonke, and also for his role in co-founding and co-chairing the global MenEngage Alliance, now active in over forty countries across the world. We are proud as ever of Dean's work, and see this as an honor not only for him, but for us all.
Sisonke Msimang Joins the Senior Management Team
We are proud to welcome Sisonke Msimang on board as Senior Programme Specialist: Policy Development, Advocacy and Communications. Sisonke brings a wealth of skills, expertise and networks which will greatly enrich the work of the organization. Over the last decade Sisonke has served in a number of high profile positions: the UNAIDS gender and AIDS advisor for Southern Africa, the Director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, and Yale Global Fellow. She served as board vice-chair and then board chair from 2008-Nov 2012.
Reflecting this impressive set of accomplishments, Sisonke was selected as a "young global leader" by the World Economic Forum in 2012. Sisonke is a regular contributor to print, radio and television media and her writing is published frequently in the Mail and Guardian, City Press and the Daily Maverick where she has a weekly Opinionista column. Sisonke has a master's degree from UCT's African Gender Institute.
Remmy Shawa wins Rising Star Award
Sonke Gender Justice congratulates its International Sida Project Coordinator, Remmy Shawa on receiving the prestigious Rising Star Award at the just concluded Women Deliver Conference in Kuala Lumpur. The award, which was presented to Remmy by the co-Chair of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ms Melinda Gates and Women Deliver Founder and President Jill Sheffield, is given to young people who have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of girls and women in their communities.
Remmy was recognized for his work on Men n’Gender, a a project he co-founded in his home country, Zambia. The project aimed at mobilizing male students at the University of Zambia to end violence against women. Remmy was part of a delegation of 100 youth leaders at Women Deliver. At the official press conference on the first day, he spoke on the need to invest in girls and women. He also spoke on a panel on barriers to care, engaging men and boys. On the last day he moderated one of the presidential sessions on the Post 2015 development agenda through young people’s lens. Remmy further co-facilitated the South African civil society country caucuses with Georgina Caswell of GNP+.
GBV Commission & Special Fund
Sonke has called for GBV Commission of Inquiry and Urgent Special Fund to Address Rape and Domestic Violence.
» 11 Reasons Why South Africa Needs a Fully Funded National Campaign to End Gender-Based Violence
Case Studies
Project Updates
The SANAC men’s sector is preparing a programme to mobilise a million men in South Africa to be actively involved in programmes aimed at stopping the spread of gender based violence, following the men’s dialogue in which 200 men participated, convened by Deputy President Motlanthe to address the spread of gender based violence in South Africa. The dialogue was attended by a cross section of men including the Minister of Health, Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister in the Presidency, Collins Chabane and Deputy Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities.
» Declaration by the Men of South Africa on the elimination of violence against women and children
As part of its work within the Commission for Gender Equality Monitor, Sonke has joined a collective of civil society organisations to submit comments to the National Assembly on the Commission on Gender Equality Amendment Bill.
» Download the Submission on the CGE Act Amendment Bill
» Download the CGE Monitor Concept Note
» Download the Commission for Gender Equality Act of 1996
» Download the Commission for Gender Equality Act Amendment Bill of 2012
Highlights
The MenEngage Africa Newsletter Issue 4 has been published! From the editorial:
For this issue of the MenEngage Africa newsletter, we want to draw attention to the damaging effect that GBV continues to have in our communities but also to highlight the inspirational work that is being done by individuals and organisations to combat gender-based violence. In Tanzania, our partners are using the media to draw upon the importance of male participation in the health and wellbeing of their families. In Kenya, we climbed Mount Kilamanjaro to demand that governments and policy makers fulfil policy commitments to reduce violence against women. And in Nigeria, we are mobilising to challenge stereotypes and abuse against LGBTI individuals.
South Africa's leading Afrikaans newspaper, Die Burger, has published an article covering Sonke's Beyond the Bars One Man Can group. The story follows Thandisizwe, one of the leading members of the Beyond the Bars team. It includes a poem, in English, by Thandisizwe.
South Africa’s criminal justice system has a number of institutional checks and balances, designed to monitor and ensure optimal operation of the system as a whole. Oversight bodies perform a crucial part of these checks and balances by assessing, investigating and taking action on complaints; monitoring the performance of criminal justice actors; and providing a transparent mechanism whereby criminal justice performance can be held to account.
New Resources
Die Burger: Die Hoop en Verskrikking van Vryheid- Men as Partners Activists test male-friendliness of VCT clinics in South Africa, 2005
- Men as Partners and the South African National Defence Force
- Sport Laughs in the Face of Discrimination
- Traditional leaders wield the power, and they are almost all men
