Bill on decriminalisation of sex work to be taken to Parliament before end of this year – Lamola

The plenary session turned into chaos as members of various civil society groups demanded more accountability from the ministers who were part of a panel on day 1 of the second Presidential Summit on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide.

The summit is underway at Gallagher Estate in Midrand under the theme, “Accountability. Acceleration and Amplification, Now!”

Attempts by Professor Olive Shisana to try and restore calm in the room were unsuccessful as delegates shouted and sang, demanding to have a chance to comment and ask questions before President Cyril Ramaphosa could deliver his address.

Despite her entreaties for silence, Shisana was drowned out by shouts and singing as she tried to move on from the Q&A session that followed the panel discussion moderated by broadcaster Eusebius McKaiser.

The panel included Ministers Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Bheki Cele and Ronald Lamola, as well as Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

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Asked who supports the decriminalisation of sex workers, neither the ministers nor the Speaker of the National Assembly raised their hands. However, Lamola stood up to say work on finalising the decriminalisation of sex work bill was being done under Deputy Minister of Justice John Jeffery.

“It will be done before the end of this year,” said Lamola.

In response to calls from civil society to fast-track the decriminalisation of sex work, Deputy Minister of Social Development, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, in September said plans were underway to decriminalise sex work by 2024.

“The Bill should be going to Cabinet later this year or early next year and part of the dialogue with the sex workers we are inputting into the draft Bill then the Bill will go for public comment,” she told SABC News.

“The decriminalisation of sex work – the removal of the criminal law and the implementation of a rights-based approach to aspects of sex work – will not only make sex work and sex workers safer, but will also reduce levels of GBV and have a far-reaching impact on public health,” Sonke Gender Justice has previously said.

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“Your anger is valid,” said Ramaphosa when he eventually delivered his keynote address after lunch.

“You even called me out as your president and I appreciate that.

“We are meeting here, at this second Presidential Summit on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, exactly four years to the day since we made a pledge to each other to work together to end the violence that men perpetrate against women and children in South Africa. 

“It was at the first Presidential Summit on GBV and Femicide in 2018 that we collectively made a firm commitment to the nation to undertake a comprehensive, effective and united response to gender-based violence and femicide. 

“We agreed to develop a National Strategic Plan (NSP) to guide our national response, to coordinate the various sectors involved in the fight against GBV, to strengthen the state’s response, and to align the efforts of government, the private sector and civil society.

“We need to be critical about those areas of the National Strategic Plan in which there has been little or no progress. We need practical plans to correct shortcomings and weaknesses. This Summit must look at what is working, what is not and what is needed to make a difference. 

“This is an accountability Summit,” Ramaphosa emphasised. 

“This second Presidential Summit is for us to assess progress in fulfilling the commitments we made at the first Summit in 2018 and in implementing the National Strategic Plan.

“To ensure that the issue of gender-based violence receives the highest attention, the responsibility for institutionalising the NSP across all organs of state was placed in the Presidency. 

“An ‘End GBV’ Collective was established as a multi-sectoral structure to drive collaborative implementation. 

“Government departments are required to submit monthly reports to the Presidency outlining their respective achievements towards the targets set in the NSP. This has been key to tracking progress. 

“We set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee to coordinate the implementation of the NSP across government departments and report regularly to Cabinet. 

“The Bill that will pave the way for the establishment of the Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Council is currently before Parliament. 

“We must acknowledge that this Bill took too long to get to Parliament due to a rather long period of consultation, but we are hopeful that it has been enriched by the extensive engagements that have been undertaken.”

Ramaphosa also added that wants to have men’s dialogues around SA to tackle gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).

“In every part of society, in every workplace, in every school and college and university, in every government department, in every municipality, in every community, we need to be organising men’s dialogues. We need to reach out to boys and young men to develop masculinities that value respect, understanding and accountability . . .  

“We need to see the President, Ministers, Premiers, religious leaders, sports people, artists, educators, business leaders and many others participating in various dialogues, outreach and awareness-raising activities.”Earlier asked to speak on low conviction rates, Lamola was hackled with demands to explain the delay in the Timothy Omotoso trial as he stepped up to the podium.

“Omotoso is still an ongoing trial,” he said before expanding on three legislative changes to which President Cyril Ramphosa assented since the last summit in 2018. These are:

1. Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act

2. Domestic Violence Amendment Act

3. National Register for Sexual Offences