Policy Advocacy & Research

The overall goal of the Policy Advocacy and Research unit is to ensure that work with men and boys is included and implemented effectively in policies at all levels, and to engage in critical research to establish a solid evidence base for ongoing work with men and boys.

The unit targets all levels of policy – local, provincial and national – and monitors implementation of such policy and legislation, while also working to develop an ongoing evidence base that supports these efforts.

Among other activities, the unit conducts national, regional and international policy scans, subsequently recommending changes in policy to consciously and actively involve men and boys in combating gender-based violence, HIV and gender inequality.

The advocacy staff also constitute an important part of Sonke’s involvement in the public sphere, addressing and drawing attention through various media to current and topical issues of gender inequality. The advocacy component of the unit conducts Sonke’s public legal endeavours, like the 2010 hate speech case against ANC Youth league president, Julius Malema.

Sonke has taken public positions on a number of defining issues: the rape trial of then-ANC Deputy President Jacob Zuma, sexual harassment charges against former parliamentary chief whip Mbulelo Goniwe, dismissal of Deputy Health Minister, Nosizwe Madlala-Routledge, the Correctional Services Amendment Bill and the slow passage of both the Child Justice Bill and the Sexual Offences Bill.

The research team investigates statutes and legislation and their implementation, and how they influence the practicalities of social justice. Findings of gaps and inefficiencies in policy and legislation inform the activities of the advocacy team which works to address them.