1. Gender Mainstreaming in community safety- prepared for Northern Cape
Crime Summit
Fundi Nzimande- Commissioner
Commission for Gender Equality (CGE)
Greetings
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This summary is written as a recommendation to the Northern Cape Crime
Summit of 20-21 October 2016. Theseare somerecommendations that weare
making as the CGE for a more inclusivesociety free of gender oppression and
inequality.
Itis important to talk about the CGE Mandate and Vision to contextualise our
discussion.
Vision: A society free from all forms of gender oppression and inequality
Mission: To promote, protect, monitor and evaluate gender equality through
undertaking research, public education, policy development, legislative
initiatives, effective monitoring and litigation.

2. Mandate:
 The CommissionforGender Equality (CGE) is an independentstatutory
body established in terms of Section 187 (Chapter 9) of the
Constitution of South Africa.
 The CGE is independent, subjectonly to legislation; must be impartial
and perform its functions without fear, favour or prejudice
 The Mandateof the CGEis contained in Section 187of theConstitution
and in the CGE Act of 1996
 CGE is mandated to promote respect for, protect, develop and attain
gender equality, and to make recommendations on any legislation
affecting the status of women
 The CGE must monitor, investigate, research, educate, lobby, advise
and reportto Parliamenton issuesconcerninggender equality (section
11 of the CGE Act No 39 of 1996 as amended)
 The Commissionfor Gender Equality mustpromoterespectforgender
equality and the protection, development and attainment of gender
equality. In addition to the Constitution and domestic legislation
The UN Convention on Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) provides as
follows, in Article 6:
“State Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation to
suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of
women”
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender
and Development.
Article 21 provides as follows:

3. “State Parties shall take measures including legislation to discouragetraditional
norms, social, economic, cultural and political practices which legitimise and
exacerbate the persistence and tolerance of gender basedviolence with a view
to eliminating them”.
2.0 BACKGROUND
LeadershipandManagement (Decisionmaking positions)
Traditionally, all social institutions (i.e. family, education, government, religion)
were male-dominated. The Police Service was similarly male dominated. Some
researchindicates thatthe firstfemale Chief of Police wasappointedfor thevery
first time in 1985, this was for the Portland Oregon Police Department.
Understanding of Gender Mainstreaming (GM) inthe police
Whatever the levels of understanding of GM is in the crime prevention and
crime prevention institutions is, we have to aim for 80-100% understanding
throughoutthe police force. This is important, not only for political correctness;
but it helps improve the efficacy of community safety mechanisms.
Menand Women’s security needs
Traditionally departments dealing with community safety have not used
research to analysethe security needs of men and women as this
consciousness seeped through slowly over the years. This is changing slowly.
3.0 WHATIS GENDER MAINSTREAMING?
Gender mainstreaming is a policy tool developed out of dissatisfactionwith how
Women in Development (WID) projects integrated women’s concerns. WID
projects were viewed as an “add on” of women’s concerns, rather than
integrating them into the mainstream or transforming broader societal and
institutional contexts. In the 1980s it developed into the Gender and

4. Development (GAD) paradigm that attempted to be more transformative by
including women’s concerns into mainstream policy making (True, 2003: 370).
When a shift occurred from GAD to gender mainstreaming in the 1990s it was
indicative of a language change as well as the globalization of the agenda to
address gendered outcomes and institutional change.
Gender mainstreaming is the process of assessing the implications for women
and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or
programmes in all areas and at all levels. It has been adopted globally as a
strategy to ensure that gender equality is one of the outcomes of all
development interventions in social, economic and political spheres. Theaim of
gender mainstreaming is to eradicate gender discrimination and oppression,
attain gender equality and transform society.
4.0 GM IN COMMUNITY SAFETY
Gender mainstreamingin communitysafety is a transformativeapproachwhose
agenda is transformation of society. ’’Gender equality in policing is not only a
matter of representation of women in the police, but it is about different
securityneeds of womenand men, too. Thus,gender analysisofspecific security
needs of women and men is necessary for improving policework.’’ according to
Sonja Stojanovic Gajic of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy.
 ETD on gender mainstreaming for all in community safety especially the
leadership
 Increased number of women and other under-represented (e.g. LGBTI)
groups in the leadership (analysing and addressing barriers to
promotion of women and other under-represented groups should be
undertaken)

5.  Gendered analysis of the different security needs of men and women
(women trafficking for sexual exploitation, Ukuthwala/Abduction,
femicide killing of women by intimate partners and male family
members) men Robbery, Extortion, Homicide. This gendered analysis
will help improvethe efficacy (efficiency and effectiveness) of the
police.
 Gendered review of policies and procedures to ensureequitable
implementation by individual officers i.e. they are clear e.g. sexual
harassmentpolicy
 Responsivepolicing that looks at the needs of women and men and
other vulnerable and/ or discriminated groups (e.g. LGBTI)
 Identifying areas wherewomen are particularly vulnerableto crime and
sharing this with the communities for awareness raising and prevention
purposes.
 Dealing with GBV:
o prevention through partnerships and community engagement,
o effective investigation to closeany loopholes for convictions,
o refuseto participate in corruptpractices such as docket theft
which often leads to GBV perpetrators going free
o collaboration with justiceto ensuremore meaningful sentences
for perpetrators of GBV
o Simplification of GBV statistics
5.0 CONCLUSION
We really appreciate being invited to this forum and given this opportunity to
participate in the deliberations. We hope that in our pursuitfor an integrated
justice system, wealso build into our strategies aspects of gender

6. mainstreaming and sustainabledevelopment and be able to monitor our
performanceand impact over the years. Wewill continue to avail ourselves to
yourselves in line with our legislative mandate.