Sazini Mojapelo, CEO of the Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund1 believes employers can no longer afford to turn a blind eye and ignore GBVF in the world of work.
This after statistics shared by Women For Change (WFC), a non-profit organisation that educates, advocates, and campaigns on GBVF, human rights, and gender equality revealed that in a day about 12 women are killed.
One out of three men, according to WFC, are rapists and every 29 seconds one man is raping a woman.
The fund, which aims to play a critical role to effect change based on research, awareness and practical support to organisations, said there is a need to adequately address the persistence of GBVF in work communities.
“GBV not only affects women at home, but also at work, and employers need to be mindful of the fact that employees could be both perpetrators and survivors,” said Mojapelo.
“This places employers in a unique position to reach both groups and help break the cycle of violence.”
Mojapelo said South Africa witnessed a 52% increase in the murder of women and a 46% rise in the murder of children between the first quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, despite all the GBV campaigns.
“This shows how women frequently experience sexual harassment in the workplace. Corporate South Africa should be held to account for how they fail to address these issues internally,” she added.
GBVF does not feature in corporate social responsibility indices, corporate governance specifications, or even occupational health and safety regulations.
This suggests that GBVF is not strategically addressed and remains an area that has received very little attention.
In March 2022, the Department of Employment and Labour amended the Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the Workplace [the Code] to include C190 principles.
The objective of C190 is to eliminate all forms of harassment in the workplace, including virtual workplaces where employees work remotely.
“It starts not only with its operations and employees, providing them with safe spaces to come forward and speak out about their ordeals, but also addressing GBVF through its supply chain and the communities in which it operates.
“HR departments and line managers are still struggling to come to terms with the impact of the Code and what it requires of them.”
She said: “Until women are safe both at home and at work, and their contribution to society and economy is recognised equitably, we will not prosper as a nation.
“All forms of violence and inequity at work should be denounced by addressing toxic masculinity, patriarchy, and male supremacy.”
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