Issue 02/2010 - The Umbrella: Safe from GBV and HIV - Changing the River’s Flow Newsletter, SAfAIDS

In this issue, we look at the importance of communication - and dialogues within communities that aim to break the culture of silence around HIV and GBV - to achieve change and alleviate traditional cutural practices that iipact negatively on the well-being of women and children. High levels of rape and domestic abuse are a factor in the region's HIV epidemic; women who have been physically and sexually assaulted by thier partners, as well as those who are in relationships with men who have a greater deal of control over them, are at higher risk of HIV infection. 

Fact sheet: Gender Based Violence: A responsibility to protect, SAfAIDS

Fact sheet includes:

- What is gender based violence (GBV)?

-  What forms does gender based violence take?

 - What factors fuel the GBV epidemic amongst women and girls?

- Why should policy makers address GBV? 

- What must policy makers do to curb the GBV epidemic in southern Africa?

Click on the link below to download

Position Paper: The Southern African Quadrant Jeopardy: Interlinkages Between Culture, GBV, HIV and Women's Rights, SAfAIDS 2010

Position Paper includes:

- The Interlinkage between culture, GBV, HIV and women's rights

- Evidence supporting the issues

- Current interventions to address the problem

- Recommendations for states

- Recommendations for custodians on culture 

- Recommendations for civil society organisations

- Recommendations for policy makers

- Recommendations for media organisations 

Issue 01/2009 - The Umbrella: Safe from GBV and HIV - Changing the River’s Flow Newsletter, SAfAIDS

Within the pages of The Umbrella – Safe from GBV and HIV Newsletter, the first issue under the SAfAIDS Changing the River's Flow series programme - we seek to build bridges of hope and renewed energy towards responding to genderbased violence, HIV and the promotion of women’s rights within the context of culture across southern Africa. We anticipate that this Newsletter shall foster ncreased and widened dialogue for change between all stakeholders around these challenging topics and irealities.

SADC Gender Protocol Barometer Baseline Study: Zimbabwe by Sithokozile Nyaradzo Thabethe

In June 2009 the Southern Africa Protocol Alliance commissioned research in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region that sought to map out the current state of governments with regards to various social, political and economic indicators in the SADC protocol on Gender and Development. The project ran for a month the 1st to the 30th of June 2009.

The objectives of undertaking such a study were set out as follows:
• To collect baseline data on the key provisions of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.
• To use this accurate and updated baseline data to develop lobbying and advocacy tools, targeting national governments and regional bodies to deliver on the Protocol commitments.
• To use this research data to enable civil society to track the progress made by SADC Member states towards achieving the set targets in the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.

Policy Primer - Emerging Issues from Policy Dialogues: Exploring links between GBV, HIV and Culture, SAfAIDS and Oxfam Canada, 2009