Page 93 - 40th Summit Brochure 2020

economic empowerment of strategy and promote implementation by
women and gender-responsive Member States, regional partners and stake-
development to contribute to so- holders. T e following actions were under-
cial inclusion and justice. T is pro- taken to strengthen and promote use of the
vides a guide to the region in strategy.
reviewing, amending and developing
laws that provide for equal access to (i) Consultation with the SADC
wage employment, decent Parliamentary Forum
work and social protection, all T e SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC
of which are fundamental to PF) sensitised women parliamentarians in
promoting socio-economic em- SADC on the SADC GBV Strategy and the
powerment in line with the 39th status of GBV in the region to inform their
SADC Summit theme – “A Con- advocacy ef orts at national level. T e par-
ducive Environment for Inclusive and liamentarians were consulted on legislative
Sustainable Industrial Development, responses to GBV in the SADC region and
Increased Intra-Regional Trade they endorsed the development of a Model
and Job Creation”. T e SADC Law on GBV for SADC. T is model law is
Secretariat mobilized resources intended to guide national domestication of
of €2 million from the German international and regional GBV instru-
Technical Cooperation (GIZ) to fa- ments and principles. T e process of devel-
cilitate the implementation of this oping the GBV Model Law will continue in
programme and accelerate the benef ts 2020/21 under the facilitation of the SADC-
of regional integration and industrializa- PF with support from the SADC Secretariat.
tion among women and men. T e fund-
ing will support implementation of a (ii) Regional Conference on Prevention
project on Industrialization and Women’s of Violence against Women and Girls
Economic Empowerment from 2020-2022 T e Secretariat collaborated with GIZ and
to increase the participation of women- other partners to host a Regional Confer-
90 owned businesses and women entrepre- ence on Prevention of Violence Against
neurs in value addition for selected sectors. Women in Southern Africa. T e conference
was attended by about 200 participants, in-
cluding representatives from all SADC
2. Gender Based Violence Member States, media, and key regional
partners and stakeholders. T e conference
Regional Strategy and Framework of Ac- encouraged evidence-based responses to
tion for Addressing GBV GBV and the prevention of violence against
Gender Based Violence continues to be a women and girls. Key strategies on GBV
challenge for the SADC region in ef orts to-
wards achieving gender equality and promot-
ing peace and security within the regional
integration agenda. Women and girls are dis-
proportionately af ected. In 2019 the SADC
region joined the rest of Africa in reviewing
progress af er 25 years of implementing the
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
Violence against women and girls was one of
the areas reviewed. T e review showed that
there is an increase in advocacy on the elim-
ination of violence against women and girls
across the continent, but the critical challenge
of violence against women and girls remains.
T e SADC Regional Strategy and Frame-
work of Action for Addressing Gender Based
Violence (2018-2030) addresses key pro-
gramming areas on GBV to inform national
responses. In T e SADC Secretariat intensi- Dr Joseph Pitso, Head of SADC Gender Unit speaking during
f ed ef orts in 2019/20 the to increase knowl- the Regional Conference on Prevention of Violence against
edge and understanding of the regional Women and Girls held in December 2019