| |
Back to Index
Facing
the future together: Report of the United Nations Secretary-General's
Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa
United
Nations
June 2004
Download this document
- Acrobat
PDF version (1,235KB)
If you do not have the free Acrobat reader on your
computer, download it from the Adobe website by clicking
here.
Executive Summary
"I
don’t want to die before I’m 110 with great grandchildren. I don’t want
to die before I turn 25. I refuse to sit down and watch my generation
fall to pieces. I am going to make a difference…will you?"
Rumbidzai
Grace Mushangi, 15, Zimbabwe
If we can stop the
spread of HIV among women and girls in southern Africa, we can turn the
epidemic around. While HIV prevalence is high among all sexually active
women, girls and young women are particularly affected - the vast majority
of young people aged 15-24 living with HIV/AIDS in southern Africa are
female. Even more worrying, data shows that many young women are being
infected almost as soon as they start having sex.
The findings of the
United Nations Secretary General's Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS
in Southern Africa show that gender inequality fuels HIV infection because
many women and girls cannot negotiate safer sex or turn down unwanted
sex. The findings also demonstrate that HIV/AIDS deepens and exacerbates
women's poverty and inequality because it requires them to do more domestic
labour as they care for the sick, the dying and the orphaned. Although
the problems are complex, the Task Force has identified key actions in
relation to its six focus issues, which can make an immediate difference:
1. Prevention among
Girls and Young Women
We must
collapse the bridge of infection between older men and younger women and
girls. Many girls have sexual partners who are five to ten years older
than them, and these men are more likely to be infected than boys and
younger men. Relationships with older men are also more likely to be premised
on unequal power relations, leaving girls vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
2. Girls' Education
We must
protect female enrolment figures - AIDS may be taking girls out of school.
Although gender parity has largely been achieved in educational enrolment
in southern Africa, we need more information on the impact of the epidemic
on the education of girls, particularly orphans.
3. Violence against
Women and Girls
We must
protect girls and women from the direct and long-term risks of HIV infection
as a result of violence Girls and women who have been sexually assaulted
are at increased risk of HIV infection, through direct transmission and
because of the long-term effects of sexual violence on risk-taking behaviour
4. Property and
Inheritance Rights
We must
protect the rights of women and girls to own and inherit land In Task
Force countries there are but a handful of small initiatives by determined
organisations that provide women and girls with legal education and advice
or assistance to prevent dispossession or restore taken property.
5. Women and Girls
as Care Givers
We must
put in place a Volunteer Charter articulating the rights and responsibilities
of women and men who provide care and support to the sick and orphaned.
Communities, families, governments and development partners cannot continue
to rely on 'women's resilience' to provide safety nets for the sick and
orphaned.
6. Access to Care
and Treatment for Women and Girls
We must
address gender norms, violence, stigma and discrimination as potential
barriers to women's access to care and treatment.
Although women may
have greater access than men to anti-retroviral treatment through public
health systems, they may miss out on treatment opportunities because of
fear that their partners will discover their HIV status.
Gaps in the Response
The report
highlights a number of important gaps in the response by governments,
international agencies and civil society organisations identified by the
Task Force:
1. Many people know
what the gender-based challenges facing women and girls are. However,
the complexity of gender relations means that many find it difficult to
focus on what exactly to do.
2. Although girls
and women represent the bulk of new infections, budgets, programmes, policies
and human resource commitments do not reflect this. Many interventions
continue to be aimed at an imaginary boy or man or a fictional gender-neutral
public.
3. Even organisations
that are explicitly trying to address the problems of women and girls
find it difficult to deal with the root causes of gender inequality. Because
changes in gender relations occur slowly, not enough funding or attention
is given to programmes that try to address the deeper connections between
gender and HIV/AIDS.
Strategies that
Work
After twenty
years of HIV/AIDS programming, and thirty years of gender and development
programming we know that applying the following approaches can yield success:
- Challenging the
social norms and values that contribute to the lower social status of
women and girls and condone violence against them, e.g. through dramas
and community-based educational initiatives;
- Increasing the
self-confidence and self-esteem of girls, e.g. through life-skills and
other school-based programmes in which they are full participants;
- Strengthening the
legal and policy frameworks that support women's rights to economic
independence (including the right to own and inherit land and property)
e.g. by restructuring justice systems, enacting laws and training NGOs
to popularise these laws;
- Ensuring access
to health services and education, in particular life skills and sexuality
education for both boys and girls, e.g. by training health workers and
teachers on gender, and re-orienting health and education systems so
that they are flexible, participatory and community-centred rather than
bureaucratic and hierarchical; and
- Empowering women
and girls economically, e.g by providing them with access to credit,
and business, entrepreneurship and marketing skills.
Strengthening the
Response
There are
actions that can be taken today, which will make a significant difference.
In order to expand the capacities of communities and of those working
on HIV/AIDS programmes to do what is necessary to ensure the fulfilment
of the rights of women and girls, the following actions are necessary:
- We must expand
the pool of gender experts. Despite the fact that many gender frameworks
have been developed, not enough people know how to 'do gender' - in
other words, how to conduct a thorough gender analysis of the situation
and design responses tailored to the different requirements of men,
women, boys and girls. There is an urgent need to make the language
of gender more practical and accessible to people at community and programme
levels.
- We must address
the fears and resistance that surround gender. Some women's groups have
argued that there has been little progress towards gender equality in
some spheres because an honest analysis of power relations provokes
discomfort or even active resistance on the part of some men. As a result,
those who occupy decision-making positions in donor agencies, community-based
organisations, households, governments and NGOs do not prioritise initiatives
that seek to challenge the status quo.
- We must support
and strengthen local women's movements and organisations. Partnerships
between governments, women's organisations and community-based organisations
are crucial. q We must increase public awareness and debate about the
relationship between gender inequality and HIV/AIDS.
- We must address
the causes of gender inequality, not only the consequences.
In the weeks, months
and years following this report, we must work with girls and women to
thoroughly analyse their situation using a human rights- and gender-based
approach. Together, we must devise strategies that fight HIV/AIDS and
simultaneously address gender inequality. We must take this task seriously.
To ensure success we must redirect existing resources and mobilise significant
additional funds. And we must make sure these resources get to where they
are most needed, to the women and the girls in the cities, towns and villages
of southern Africa.
List of Task Force
members
- Hon. Dr. Libertina Amathila , Minister of Health and Social
Services, Namibia
- Hon. Ruth Bhengu, Member of Parliament, Kwazulu-Natal, South
Africa and Deputy President, South African National Civic Organization
(SANCO)
- Justice Lombe Chibesakunda, Judge of the High Court of Zambia
- Dr. Vera Chirwa, Executive Director, Malawi CARER
- Hon. Dr. Brian Chituwo, Minister of Health and Chairman, Cabinet
Committee on HIV/AIDS, Zambia
- Dra. Teresinha da Silva, President, Forum Mulher, Mozambique
- Thuli Dladla, Director, SEBENTA National Institute, Swaziland
- Justice Unity Dow, Judge of the High Court of Botswana
- Prof. Musa Dube, Consulting Theologian, World Council of Churches
Member, Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians *
- Ms.
Tandiwe Dumbutshena, Headmistress, Harare Girl's High School, Zimbabwe
- Mr. Selby Gama, Principal Magistrate, Swaziland
- Ms. Siphiwe Hlophe, Coordinator, Swaziland Positive Living
for Life Organisation (SWAPOL) *
- His Royal Highness Nkosi Patekile Holomisa, Chairperson, SADC
Council of Traditional Leaders and President, Congress of Traditional
Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) *
- Dr Bongani Khumalo, Chairman, Transnet, South Africa
- Prof. Nkandu Luo, Chairperson, Society for Women and AIDS in
Zambia
- Rt. Hon. Justin Malewezi, Vice President, Malawi
- Ms. Keiso Matashane Marite, Women and Law in Southern Africa
(WLSA), Lesotho
- Ms.
Bella Matambanadzo, Executive Director, Zimbabwe Women’s Resource
Centre and Network *
-
Ms. Kate Mhambi-Musimwa, National Coordinator, Zimbabwe AIDS
Network (ZAN)
- Mr. Diogo Milagre, Deputy Executive Secretary of the National
AIDS Council and Vice-President, Forum Mulher, Mozambique
- Mrs. M’athato Mosisili, First Lady, Lesotho
- Ms. Promise Mthembu, Global Advocacy Officer, International
Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS *
- Ms. Masuka Mutenda, Programme Manager, Youth Media,
Zambia *
- Ms. Maria Nangolo-Rukoro, Country Director, National Social
Marketing Programme, Namibia
- Dr. Naomi Ngwira, Executive Director, Institute for Policy
Research for Analysis and Dialogue, Malawi
- Dr. Khauhelo Raditapole, Member of Parliament and Chairperson,
HIV/AIDS Parliamentary Committee, Lesotho
- Prof. Sheila Tlou, HIV/AIDS Coordinator, University of Botswana
* Task Force
members invited by regional Task Force working group, not country teams
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
