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in all spheres of public and private life”. This was followed by the Declaration on Gender
and Development approved by the SADC Summit in August 1997, and its Addendum on
the Prevention and Eradication of Violence Against Women and Children adopted in 1998.
The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development was approved in 2008 and en-
tered into force in 2013. The Protocol was extensively updated and approved in 2016 to
align with global targets and emerging issues. This is the main instrument that guides the
purposeful advance toward gender equality, empowerment and development in the
SADC region.
The Protocol was put in place to address the challenges that women in the region
face in achieving access to productive resources, representation in decision-making positions
in the public and private sectors, changes in attitudes of discriminatory practices, and pro-
active policies that are not neutral or gender-blind. The Protocol, therefore, seeks to provide
for the empowerment of women, elimination of discrimination, and the promotion of
gender equality and equity through gender-responsive legislation, policies, programmes and
projects. Implementation of the Protocol on Gender and Development and its achievements
are monitored and presented through the SADC Gender and Development Monitor.

Institutional Framework on Gender and Development
One of the major milestones in promoting equality and empowerment of women and
men in all spheres of life was realised in 1996 when the SADC Council approved an in-
stitutional framework for advancing gender equality in all sectors. This framework led to
the establishment of the following:
126 ● A Standing Committee of Ministers Responsible for Gender Affairs;
● A Gender Advisory Committee consisting of one Government and one Non-
State Representative from each Member State;
● Gender Focal Points at all Sectoral Levels; and,
● Creation of a Gender Unit at the SADC Secretariat to facilitate, coordinate and moni-
tor gender-related activities.
The establishment of these key institutional structures was instrumental in the ap-
proval of the Declaration on Gender and Development in 1997 followed by the Addendum
on the Prevention and Eradication of Violence Against Women and Children, signed in
September 1998.
SADC committed at the highest level to im-
plement the Declaration and its Addendum, and
called upon Member States to increase the repre-
sentation by women in political leadership and
decision-making to at least 30 percent by 2005; re-
form all discriminatory laws and social practices;
promote women’s full access to, and control over
productive resources such as land, livestock and
markets; address, prevent and eradicate violence
against women and children; promote women and
girls’ access to education; and cultivate and pro-
mote a culture of gender equality and respect for
the human rights of women in the SADC Region.
SADC developed a Plan of Action on
Gender in 1999 to facilitate implementation as
well as in recognition of emerging issues, and this
was aligned to the Regional Indicative Strategic
Development Plan (RISDP) 2005-2015. The Plan
of Action was then consolidated into a Regional
Strategic Implementation Framework on Gender
and Development (2006- 2010).