Women and Democracy Initiative (WDI)

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    At the crossroads: linking strategic frameworks to address gender-based violence and HIV/ AIDS in Southern Africa
    (Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2007) Combrinck, Helene; Wakefield, Lorenzo
    In recent years, southern African governments have made a number of important commitments on international and regional levels to combat HIV/ AIDS. The subregion has also seen a number of strategic developments such as the drafting and implementation of the SADC HIV/AIDS Policy Framework for 2003-2007 and the appointment by the UN Secretary-General of a Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa.It is now generally accepted that the intersections between gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS are among the most significant of the gendered dimensions of this pandemic. It is noteworthy that the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women devoted her 2005 thematic report to these intersections. She observed that while some progress is being made separately on ending violence against women and on stemming the spread of HIV/AIDS, national and international efforts would be vastly more effective if they addressed the interconnectness between the two pandemics.
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    Training for police on the Domestic Violence Act
    (Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2009) Combrinck, Helene; Wakefield, Lorenzo
    The inadequate or inappropriate police responses to domestic violence often result from a lack of knowledge of the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) and the National Instruction or from a misinterpretation of the DVA’s provisions. In the interviews undertaken, the central question asked was: ‘Do current training programmes provide SAPS members with the knowledge and skills required to apply the DVA and National Instruction in practice?’ It appeared from the interviews that the majority of the research participants had a basic awareness of the DVA and the National Instruction. However, when it came to the practical application of knowledge in a ‘problem-solving’ scenario, it was notable that the majority of interviewees experienced difficulties when multi-faceted variables were included. It was recommended that more members need training on the DVA, and more frequent and/or more in-depth courses should be offered. Furthermore it was recommended that special attention be devoted to training on domestic violence during the basic six months’ training for new students.