Comprehensive Study Notes on South Africa's Compliance with CEDAW Recommendations (CGE Report 2020)

Constitutional Mandate and Legislative Framework of the Commission for Gender Equality

• Constitutional Basis for Establishment:

  • The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) is an independent statutory body established under Section 181 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, created alongside other Chapter Nine institutions to strengthen constitutional democracy.
  • Section 187 of the Constitution underpins the mandate of the CGE, requiring that it promote respect for gender equality and the protection, development, and attainment of gender equality in both public and private spheres.

• Statutory Functions under the Commission for Gender Equality Act (Act 39 of 1996):

  • Section 11(h) empowers the CGE to monitor the Republic's compliance with international conventions, covenants, and charters that have been acceded to or ratified, relating to the object of the Commission.
  • Section 11(i) empowers the CGE to prepare and submit reports to Parliament pertaining to any such convention, covenant, or charter relating to its statutory objects.
  • The mandate tasks the CGE with evaluating the progress and compliance of the South African government regarding obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

• Monitoring and Reporting History:

  • The initial South African country report was deposited to the CEDAW Committee in 1998 (three years late relative to its 1995 ratification).
  • The combined second, third, and fourth periodic reports were deposited in 2008 and presented before the CEDAW Committee during its 967th and 968th Sessions in 2011.
  • The CGE produced an initial alternative report in 2010, followed by a comprehensive baseline report in 2015 detailing the implementation of CEDAW provisions and General Recommendations.
  • The 2020 CGE compliance evaluation assesses government performance in executing the 2011 Concluding Observations and Recommendations across the 2009–2015 periodic reporting cycle and subsequent years up to 2020.
  • The CGE research team responsible for compiling the 2020 review was led by Project Leader Lieketseng Mohlakoana-Motopi, alongside researchers Naledi Selebano, Princess Malebye, Mojalefa Dipholo, Thubelihle Zitha, and Thabani Mdlongwa, under the editorial leadership of Research Director Thabo Rapoo.
  • The assessment relies on secondary qualitative and quantitative data, annual reports, departmental websites, and telephonic engagements with government officials.

International Human Rights Frameworks and CEDAW Core Principles

• Evolution of International Instruments on Gender Equality:

  • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), celebrating 72 years in 2020, establishes equality before the law and fundamental freedoms without distinction of any kind, including sex and gender as impermissible grounds of distinction.
  • The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), both ratified by South Africa, translate universal rights into legally binding obligations mandating equal enjoyment of rights between men and women.
  • The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), established in 1946, drafted fragmented declarations between 1946 and 1963. In 1965, the UN General Assembly tasked the CSW with drafting a consolidated instrument, resulting in the 1967 Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which carried moral and political force but lacked legally binding status.
  • In 1972, the CSW explored the feasibility of a binding treaty. Work accelerated during the 1975 World Conference of the International Women's Year, leading to the UN General Assembly's adoption of CEDAW in 1979.
  • South Africa formally ratified CEDAW in 1995.

• Foundational Principles of CEDAW:

  • Principle of Substantive Equality: Directs state parties to achieve de facto (practical/factual) as well as de jure (formal/legal) equality between women and men, recognizing that formal legal neutrality may perpetuate structural inequality.
  • Principle of Non-Discrimination: Obligates state parties to prohibit, prevent, and eliminate all distinctions, exclusions, or restrictions based on sex that impair the recognition or exercise of human rights.
  • Principle of State Obligation: Mandates that state parties bear proactive, positive duties to respect, protect, promote, and fulfill women's rights through legislative, executive, administrative, and judicial mechanisms.

• Mandatory Treaty Reporting Objectives:

  • Comprehensive national review of measures taken to harmonize domestic legislation and policy with international human rights standards.
  • Systematic monitoring of progress achieved in human rights realization.
  • Rigorous identification of structural obstacles, implementation bottlenecks, and policy gaps.
  • Strategic planning and development of targeted policies to remedy non-compliance.

• National Policy Landmarks and Persistent Gaps:

  • Key accomplishments noted in past national reviews include:
    • Subjugation of customary and cultural practices to the constitutional right to equality in the National Gender Policy Framework.
    • Head of Department's 8 Principle Action Plan for Promoting Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality within the Public Service Workplace.
    • Promulgation of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act (Act 120 of 1998).
    • Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) job creation targets for 2004–2009: 1,000,000 work opportunities, allocating at least 40% to women, 30% to youth, and 2% to persons with disabilities.
    • Amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (Act 75 of 1997) protecting parental and pregnancy rights and extending coverage to domestic and part-time workers.
    • Social grants distribution targeting caregivers, older persons, and persons with disabilities.
    • Gender mainstreaming across the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act (Act 3 of 1996), Housing Act (Act 107 of 1997), Water Services Act (Act 108 of 1997), and Land Bank Amendment Act (Act 21 of 1998).
  • Major challenges identified by the CEDAW Committee requiring prioritization include:
    • Severe disparities in labor force participation, particularly for black women and youth aged 15–34.
    • Horizontal and vertical workplace segregation, gender wage gaps, and failure to enforce equal pay for work of equal value.
    • Low employment rates of women with disabilities.
    • Entrenched gendered poverty and restricted access to capital and credit for small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) run by women.
    • Structural weakness and lack of authority within the National Gender Machinery (NGM).
    • High levels of gender-based violence (GBV), domestic violence, and femicide.

Article 1: Legislative Definition of Discrimination and Parliamentary Oversight

• Verbatim Definition under CEDAW Article 1:

  • Discrimination against women is defined as "any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women - irrespective of their marital status, or on the basis of equality of men and women - of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, civil, or any other field."

• Role and Engagement of Parliamentary Portfolio Committees:

  • While the national executive bears primary accountability for implementing CEDAW obligations, the Convention is binding across all branches of the state apparatus, including the legislative branch.
  • Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities: Held dedicated sessions in 2015 and 2016 to deliberate on South Africa's 5th Periodic Report (2009–2014) regarding compliance with the 2011 Concluding Observations; exercises oversight on GBV, shelters, and the National Strategic Plan (NSP); conducts site visits, programme scrutiny, and public hearings.
  • Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs: Exercises statutory oversight over the Department of Home Affairs, specifically tracking compliance with Article 9 concerning citizenship, identity, and spousal surname retention.
  • Portfolio Committee on Health: Directs oversight on the Department of Health and statutory entities such as the Council for Medical Schemes; monitors Article 12, the National Health Insurance (NHI) proposal, Recommendation 35 (HIV/AIDS), and Recommendations 37 and 38 (Rural Health and Health Education); restricts public access to its internal reports, impeding civic analysis.
  • Portfolio Committee on Social Development: Exercises oversight over the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA); oversees compliance with General Recommendation No. 19 and Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; received a briefing on 30 October 2019 detailing the appointment of 200 social workers deployed to Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs) and victim support facilities.

• Systemic Legislative Deficiencies:

  • African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament Mr. M Dirks highlighted that executive non-implementation of adopted state policies remains the single most critical structural failure.
  • The African Gender Development Index (AGDI) indicates that Gender Focal Points (GFPs) across government departments lack decision-making seniority, financial resources, and executive authority, limiting gender mainstreaming across state programming.
  • Initiatives such as Women's Parliament sessions held annually during National Women's Month in August (including the 2019 session addressing organized human trafficking networks), the "16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children," and "Taking Parliament to the People" function largely as symbolic awareness exercises without statutory authority to enforce outcomes.

Article 2: Access to Justice, Legal Aid, and Traditional Courts Transformation

• Constitutional and International Standards for Access to Justice:

  • Access to justice is guaranteed under Sections 35(2)(c) and 35(3)(g) & (o) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, aligning domestic policy with Sustainable Development Goals 16 and 17, the African Union's Agenda 2063, and the National Development Plan (NDP / Agenda 2030).
  • Legal Aid South Africa, established under the Legal Aid South Africa Act (Act 39 of 2014) and operational since 1 March 2015, provides state-funded legal representation to indigent individuals.
  • Scope of Legal Aid Mandate: Renders legal assistance in criminal matters, matters involving minors, and asylum-seeker applications under Chapters 3 and 4 of the Refugees Act (Act 130 of 1998). Civil legal aid services are expressly denied to non-citizens.
  • Gender Data Deficiency: Legal Aid South Africa does not collect or report gender-disaggregated statistics on service beneficiaries, precluding empirical assessment of women's access to justice.

• The Traditional Courts Bill (TCB) Impasse:

  • The Traditional Courts Bill was drafted to align customary dispute resolution with the Bill of Rights, drawing upon principles of restorative justice and reconciliation across rural and indigenous communities.
  • Grounds for Parliamentary Stalling: Previous iterations of the TCB contained provisions that violated constitutional equality and universal access to justice. In traditional court forums, women were denied the right to speak, represent themselves, or participate in proceedings based solely on sex.
  • Reference Group Negotiations (22 April 2019): Consensus was reached on equal participation of women, dispute resolution mechanisms, territorial jurisdiction, authority limits, legal representation, sanctions, appeal processes, and accountability metrics.
  • Unresolved Controversies: Ongoing disagreements between traditional leaders and gender advocacy groups regarding the total removal of discriminatory provisions, the concentration of power in traditional leaders, enforcement protocols, and balancing living customary law against constitutional human rights standards.

• Structural Dysfunction of the National Gender Machinery (NGM):

  • The CEDAW Committee in 2011 urged South Africa to expeditiously strengthen the Ministry for Women, Children and People with Disabilities (DWCPD) through adequate fiscal, human, and technical allocations.
  • Frequent Institutional Restructuring: The executive repeatedly shifted institutional mandates, stripping youth and disability portfolios to DSD in 2014 to create the standalone Ministry of Women in the Presidency, and recombining them post-2019 as the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD). Research demonstrates that grouping women with other vulnerable cohorts dilutes the programmatic focus on gender equality.
  • Institutional Weaknesses: The Ministry remains the least funded department in the national budget (receiving the smallest budget increment in 2018/19); faces criticism over conflating its policy implementation mandate with the oversight mandate of the CGE; and lacked leadership when former Minister Susan Shabangu declined to lead the National Strategic Plan on GBV, arguing the Ministry was focused solely on economic empowerment.
  • Resuscitation Initiatives: In September 2019, the DWYPD commenced formal processes to revive the NGM, formulating a draft Framework on South Africa's National Gender Machinery to revise the outdated 2000 National Gender Policy Framework and operationalize the multi-stakeholder NGM Forum.

Article 3: Elimination of Harmful Traditional and Cultural Practices

• Ukuthwala Distortion and Legislative Ambiguity:

  • Historical Transformation: Originally an idealized cultural practice of staged elopement between consenting young adults confronting familial resistance, Ukuthwala has evolved into an illegal practice of abduction, forced marriage, and sexual violence targeting underage girls, particularly across Nguni-speaking rural communities.
  • Applicable Penal Framework: While Ukuthwala is not explicitly defined and banned under a dedicated statute, prosecutions rely on:
    • Combating and Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act (Act 7 of 2013).
    • Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act (Act 32 of 2007), where Section 15 categorizes sexual acts following abduction as rape, and Section 17 criminalizes parental sexual exploitation.
    • Recognition of Customary Marriages Act (Act 120 of 1998), requiring mutual consent and an age threshold of 18 years.
  • Legal Reform Status: The South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) issued Discussion Paper 32 (Project 139: The Practice of Ukuthwala), drafting an explicit Bill to criminalize or regulate the practice, which remained stalled pending Ministerial review in 2019.
  • Judicial Precedent: Regional courts have applied existing criminal statutes, such as the Mokerong Regional Magistrates Court in Limpopo sentencing a 57-year-old perpetrator to five years imprisonment for the abduction and forced marriage of a 13-year-old child.

• Constitutional Invalidation of Customary Property Regimes in Polygamy:

  • Polygamous customary marriages are recognized under the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act (Act 120 of 1998).
  • Ramuhovhi v President of the Republic of South Africa (2017): The Constitutional Court confirmed a Limpopo High Court ruling declaring Section 7(1) of the RCMA unconstitutional. Section 7(1) dictated that proprietary consequences of customary marriages entered into prior to the Act's commencement (15 November 2000) continued to be governed by customary law, effectively denying wives marital property rights.
  • Cabinet Intervention: On 24 July 2019, Cabinet approved the Recognition of Customary Marriages Amendment Bill to grant equal and joint ownership, management, and control of family and house property to women in both monogamous and polygamous customary unions.

• Witchcraft Allegations and Persecution of Elderly Women:

  • Traditional courts historically adjudicated witchcraft allegations, issuing sanctions ranging from violent beatings to execution, banishment, or forced "cleansing" (as documented in the Ralushai Commission Report 51).
  • The Witchcraft Suppression Act (Act 3 of 1957) regulates offenses but is structurally flawed: it fails to provide a legal definition of witchcraft and has failed to prevent extrajudicial lynchings and violence that systematically victimize older women.
  • The SALRC initiated an assessment under Issue Paper 29 (2014) to reform the Witchcraft Suppression Act.

• Female Genital Mutilation (FGM):

  • While the World Health Organization (WHO) does not list South Africa as an endemic zone for FGM, CGE research reveals that migrant communities (including Sudanese and other African diaspora populations) practice FGM in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
  • Statutory Prohibitions: Section 8(b) of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA, Act 4 of 2000) prohibits discrimination based on FGM; Section 12(2)(a) of the Children's Act (Act 38 of 2005) explicitly criminalizes the circumcision or genital mutilation of female children.
  • South Africa's international obligations under Article 3 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) require the state to eliminate all forms of harmful traditional practices.

Articles 4 and 5: Gender Stereotyping, Education, and Virginity Testing

• Omission of Constitutional Oversight Mechanisms under Article 4:

  • State reporting under Article 4 failed to incorporate the constitutional role of the CGE, which is mandated under Section 181 and Section 187 of the Constitution and Act 39 of 1996 to evaluate gender transformation policies across all state and private institutions.

• Sex-Role Stereotyping in Education and Institutional Policies:

  • The Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF 2014–2019), consisting of 14 national outcomes, focuses broadly on economic growth and social cohesion, omitting actionable indicators to eliminate patriarchal stereotypes.
  • Judicial Repudiation of Discriminatory School Policies: In Head of Department, Department of Education, Free State Province v Welkom High School and Another; Harmony High School and Another (2013), the Constitutional Court struck down school governing body policies that excluded pregnant learners, forced grade repetitions, or expelled female students while allowing teenage fathers to continue schooling unhindered.
  • Structural Bias in Schooling: Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) studies demonstrate that cultural socialization forces girls into domestic maintenance and reproductive roles, disincentivizing participation in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and driving higher female dropout and illiteracy rates in rural environments.
  • Community Legal Literacy: The NPA Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA) Unit, in collaboration with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD), the National House of Traditional Leaders, and the Malibongwe Women's Development Organisation, operates the Ndabezitha Izimbizo Project to educate rural communities on domestic violence legislation and gender equality.

• Virginity Testing and Municipal Violations:

  • Section 12(1) of the Children's Act (Act 38 of 2005) guarantees children protection against harmful cultural practices; Section 12(4) prohibits virginity testing for children under 16 years of age. For children aged 16 and older, testing is permitted only with informed consent and mandatory psychological counselling.
  • Traditional authorities, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, defend virginity testing as an essential cultural institution.
  • The Maidens Bursary Scheme Case (2016): The UThukela District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal instituted tertiary educational bursaries conditioned upon female students undergoing regular virginity testing and remaining virgins during holidays, stripping bursaries if sexual activity occurred. Following an investigation, the CGE ruled the bursary scheme unconstitutional, discriminatory on the basis of sex, and unlawful, compelling the municipality to dismantle the virginity criteria.

Gender-Based Violence and Femicide: Institutional Responses, Case Backlogs, and Resources

• Institutional Frameworks to Combat GBV:

  • Collapse of the National Council on Gender Based Violence (NCGBV): Formally launched on 10 December 2012 as an overarching multi-sectoral body, the NCGBV collapsed within two years following the 2014 general elections due to an ambiguous legal identity, lack of statutory independence, acute underfunding, the absence of an appointed CEO, and state-civil society friction.
  • #TotalShutdown and the Presidential Summit (2018–2019): On 1 August 2018, nationwide #TotalShutdown protests submitted 24 demands to the President, resulting in the November 2018 Presidential Summit against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. The Summit Declaration was signed in March 2019, creating an Interim Steering Committee mandated to establish a permanent GBV council and draft the National Strategic Plan (NSP).
  • Safer Communities Targets: Outcome 3 of the National Development Plan (NDP) aims for "all people in South Africa to be and feel safe." However, Statistics South Africa reported that in 2015/16, 70% of citizens felt unsafe walking in their neighborhoods at night. South African Police Service (SAPS) crime statistics indicated that 2,930 women were murdered in 2017/18 (an increase of 291 deaths compared to the previous year).

• Macroeconomic Impact and Public Expenditure on GBV:

  • A 2014 study by KPMG calculated that if one in five women experience gender violence annually, the minimum direct cost to the South African economy is $R28.4\text{ billion}$.
  • KPMG estimated total 2013/14 state expenditure across SAPS, DOJ&CD, Department of Health (DOH), DSD, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on GBV programmes at $R513,551,244$.
  • A 2013 parliamentary inquiry revealed that the DOJ spent $R106,855,823$ and the SAPS spent $R40,604,988.58$ in 2013/14 on GBV programmes; however, these allocations represented historical programmatic operational costs rather than needs-based costing.

• Emergency Response Action Plan (ERP):

  • In September 2019, during an extraordinary joint parliamentary sitting, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared an Emergency Response Action Plan spanning six months (October 2019 – March 2020), managed by the Interim Steering Committee on GBV.
  • The emergency fiscal allocation was initially set at $R1.1\text{ billion}$ and subsequently raised in November 2019 to $R1.6\text{ billion}$.
  • Designated programmatic spending included $R517\text{ million}$ earmarked for victim care and survivor support, and $R179\text{ million}$ allocated to public education, awareness campaigns, and primary prevention.

• Departmental Capacity Deficits in GBV Service Delivery:

  • South African Police Service (SAPS): Deficits in legislative training; severe shortages of Victim Friendly Rooms (VFRs); nationwide shortages of DNA/rape collection kits; insufficient detectives in Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) units; transport shortages hindering victim transport to health centres.
  • National Prosecuting Authority (NPA): Operating under-resourced Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs) that fail to maintain continuous 24/7 service; inadequate training of prosecutors regarding the Service Charter for Victims of Crime.
  • Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD): Under the Judicial Matters Second Amendment Act (Act 43 of 2013), Section 55A empowered the designation of Sexual Offences Courts (SOCs). From an initial target of 54 courts, 74 SOCs were established by 2019; however, the courts face operational dysfunction due to shortages of dedicated magistrates, intermediaries, and court interpreters. Minimum standards for SOCs were formally gazetted on 7 February 2020.
  • Department of Health (DOH): Critical deficit of trained clinical forensic medical officers and nurses; recurring stock-outs of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and rape kits.
  • Department of Social Development (DSD): Mass closures and operational insolvency of civil society-run shelters for abused women due to subsidy reductions; absence of social workers and trauma counsellors across police stations and TCCs.
  • Department of Correctional Services (DCS): Inability to monitor, locate, and transport victims to participate in victim-offender dialogues and parole board hearings.

Article 6: Trafficking in Persons and Exploitation of Prostitution

• Statutory and Policy Mechanisms Against Human Trafficking:

  • The Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act (Act 7 of 2013) came into full legal operation on 9 August 2015.
  • On 25 April 2019, the DOJ&CD and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons National Policy Framework (NPF) under the Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT) initiative.
  • GLO.ACT operated as a four-year (2015–2019), €11 million joint technical venture financed by the European Union and UNODC across South Africa and 12 other partner nations (Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, the Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, and Ukraine).

• Prosecution Backlogs and Judicial Sentences:

  • Despite statutory codification, prosecution and conviction numbers remain low relative to reported cases. In 2016/17, over 170 women and children were identified as victims of trafficking, but convictions were achieved in only nine cases.
  • Documented Convictions: In Durban (2016/17), four Thai nationals received sentences of a $R6,000$ fine or three years imprisonment; in 2018, two Nigerian nationals received sentences of 12 and 18 years; in 2019, a Nigerian national received six life terms plus 129 years imprisonment for trafficking three young girls as sex slaves.
  • In 2018, only eight successful convictions were registered nationally for trafficking offenses.

• Data Deficits and Training Implementation:

  • The HSRC's 2010 Tsireledzani study established that South Africa lacked baseline administrative data to measure human trafficking.
  • In April 2019, the NPA and DOJ&CD launched a national trafficking data tool to streamline case collation.
  • From 12 to 14 March 2019, UNODC and GLO.ACT conducted anti-trafficking workshops in KwaZulu-Natal for SAPS station commanders, detectives, and NPA prosecutors; however, no equivalent training occurred for magistrates, judges, immigration border officials, or social workers.

Article 7: Political Representation, Governance, and Corporate Leadership

• Constitutional and Legal Guarantees:

  • Section 19 of the Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to make political choices, campaign, vote in secret, and stand for public office.
  • South Africa lacks legislation mandating a 50/50 gender quota in political party lists, leaving the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development target of 50% voluntary.
  • The draft Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill lapsed in Parliament in 2014.
  • The African National Congress (ANC) remains the only registered political party enforcing a formal zebra-stripe 50/50 gender parity list policy. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) observes an informal parity system.

• Electoral Participation and Legislative Representation:

  • Women constituted 55% of registered voters in the 2009 general election, 55.9% in 2014, and 55% in 2019.
  • In the May 2019 elections, 48 political parties contested; only four were led by women, and only two female-led parties won parliamentary seats.
  • Following the 2019 elections, women held 45% (179 out of 400 seats) of the National Assembly, while female representation in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) dropped from 41% in 2004 to 21% in 2019.

• Executive Cabinet Representation:
  • Following the May 2019 elections, parity was achieved in the National Cabinet, with 50% of ministerial posts held by women.
  • The positions of President and Deputy President remained occupied by men, and the Ministry of Finance (National Treasury) has never had a female Minister.

• Public Service Senior Management:

  • Public Service Commission statistics for the 2018/19 financial year indicate that women held 29% of top management posts (Levels 15–16; two women out of seven posts) and 41.6% of senior management posts (Levels 13–14; 35 women out of 84 posts), reflecting a 9% deficit against the 50% national target.

• Judicial Bench Representation:

  • Constitutional Court: Four women out of 11 Justices (with one vacancy).
  • Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA): Eight women out of 28 judges (29%), with a female Judge President.
  • Magistracy: 47.8% of appointed magistrates were women (863 out of 1,803 positions).

• Corporate Leadership and State-Owned Enterprises (BWASA Census Data):

  • The Businesswomen's Association of South Africa (BWASA) reported that the proportion of JSE-listed firms with at least three female board directors declined from 35.9% in 2015 to 25.6% in 2017.

• Public Sector Leadership Training:
  • On 21 October 2013, the National School of Government (NSG) was established under Schedule 1 of the Public Service Act, replacing the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy (PALAMA).
  • The NSG operates the Accelerated Development Programme to transition middle-management female personnel and employees with disabilities into Senior Management Service (SMS) positions, alongside the Executive Development Programme for team leadership skills.

Article 8: Diplomatic Service and International Participation

• Representation across Foreign Missions:
  • As of 19 September 2019, Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) records indicated that women constituted:
    • 35% of Heads of Mission / Ambassadors (with 13% of posts vacant).
    • 31% of Chargés d'Affaires.
    • 43% of High Commissioners (with 5% of posts vacant).
    • 46% of Consuls-General (with 15% of posts vacant).
  • In 2015, diplomatic missions abroad employed 723 total staff, comprising 386 women (53%) and 337 men (47%).

• Peacekeeping and UN Resolution 1325:
  • South Africa deploys female military personnel to international peacekeeping contingents and has formulated a draft National Action Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security.

Article 9: Nationality, Citizenship, and Administrative Autonomy

• Statutory Regimes Governing Nationality:

  • Administered through the Department of Home Affairs (Civic and Immigration branches) pursuant to:
    • South African Citizenship Act (Act 88 of 1995).
    • Births and Deaths Registration Act (Act 51 of 1992).
    • Identification Act (Act 68 of 1997).
    • Alteration of the Sex Description and Sex Status Act (Act 49 of 2003).
    • Civil Union Act (Act 17 of 2006).
    • Marriage Act (Act 25 of 1961).
    • Recognition of Customary Marriages Act (Act 120 of 1998).

• Acquisition, Retention, and Loss of Citizenship:

  • By Birth: Conferred if at least one parent is a citizen or permanent resident at the time of birth, or if a child is adopted by a citizen under the Children's Act (Act 38 of 2005).
  • By Descent: Available to individuals born abroad to a South African parent, provided the birth is registered under Act 51 of 1992.
  • By Naturalisation: Acquired via compliance with Section 5 of Act 88 of 1995.
  • Retention and Loss: Automatic loss occurs if a citizen aged 18 or older acquires foreign citizenship through a voluntary act other than marriage without prior approval of retention. Reinstatement requires demonstrating permanent residence. Deprivation occurs in instances of fraudulent certificates, concealment of material facts, or criminal imprisonment of 12 months or longer abroad for dual citizens.

• Spousal Surnames and Administrative Overreach:

  • Section 26 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act permits a woman upon marriage to retain her maiden name, assume her spouse's surname, or join both into a double-barrelled surname via written notice.
  • Department of Home Affairs software systems automatically alter married women's surnames to their husbands' surnames without explicit consent, violating administrative standards and domestic legal provisions.

Article 10: Equal Access to Education and School Safety

• Legislative and Fiscal Allocations:

  • Governed by the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (Act 15 of 2011), South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996), National Education Policy Act (Act 27 of 1996), Employment of Educators Act (Act 76 of 1998), and South African Council for Educators (SACE) Act (Act 31 of 2000).
  • The Department of Basic Education (DBE) received 17% of total national budget expenditure in 2017/18 and $R24.5\text{ billion}$ in 2019/20 (a 3.4% annual increase).

• Learner Pregnancy and Retention Barriers:

  • Statistics South Africa recorded 97,143 births to teenage mothers in 2017.
  • The DBE formulated the National Policy on the Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy in Schools, which permits girls to resume education post-childbirth. However, enforcement remains uneven, with school governing bodies excluding pregnant girls, suspending them, or forcing them to repeat grades while boys face no administrative consequences.
  • Menstrual Sanitation Disparities: Research from the Stellenbosch Law Clinic found that 30% of female learners miss schooling during menstruation due to lack of sanitary pads. While value-added tax (VAT) was removed from sanitary pads, rural and disabled girls face persistent sanitation barriers.

• School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV) and Physical Safety:

  • Fatal stabbings, shootings, and physical assaults targeting teachers and learners occur within schools.
  • Queer and gender non-conforming learners face homophobic abuse and corporal harassment from both peers and educators.
  • Scholar Transport Constraints: The National Learner Transport Policy (2015) restricts transport subsidies to learners without access to public transit. Equal Education reported that over 500,000 learners in KwaZulu-Natal walk to school daily, exposing girls to sexual violence, abduction, and assault.
  • SACE Disciplinary Records: In 2018/19, the South African Council for Educators documented 633 misconduct cases against teachers, with 93 matters involving rape, indecent assault, sexual assault, and sexual misconduct.
  • The National School Safety Framework (2015) remains under-resourced and largely reliant on basic police station partnerships. Initiatives such as the DBE's "Speak Out Freely" reporting portal collapsed, with the web domain lapsing into private commercial hands.

Article 11: Workplace Protections, Equal Remuneration, and Parental Leave

• Employment Equity Legislation:

  • Regulated by the Employment Equity Act (Act 55 of 1998), Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (Act 4 of 2000), Basic Conditions of Employment Act (Act 75 of 1997), and Labour Relations Act (Act 66 of 1995).
  • South Africa signed the ILO Violence and Harassment Convention (Convention 190) but has not ratified ILO Convention No. 83 concerning maternity benefits.

• Gender Wage Gaps and Workplace Harassment:

  • While public service pay scales ensure uniform remuneration between men and women within identical post bands, the private sector maintains a median gender wage gap of 15%.
  • Sexual harassment remains pervasive across both corporate and public sectors.

• Parental Leave Reforms:

  • The Labour Relations Amendment Act (Act 8 of 2018) was signed into law on 27 November 2018 (effective 1 January 2019), leading to amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act that took effect on 1 January 2020.
  • The provisions grant ten consecutive days of parental leave to fathers, adopting parents, and parents through surrogacy upon the birth or adoption of a child.
  • Leave is statutorily unpaid by the employer, requiring employees to claim income-replacement benefits through the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).

• Precarity of Domestic Workers:

  • Over 1,000,000 workers are employed in domestic service.
  • A 2019 SweepSouth survey of 1,300 domestic workers revealed that 16% suffered physical or verbal abuse in the workplace, and 79% served as the primary breadwinners of their households while earning low wages.

Article 12: Healthcare Access, Maternal Health, and HIV/AIDS

• Statutory Framework for Healthcare Delivery:

  • Section 27 of the Constitution guarantees universal access to healthcare services, including reproductive health and emergency medical treatment, implemented via the National Health Act (Act 61 of 2003).
  • Specific health legislation includes the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act (Act 92 of 1996), Sterilisation Act (Act 44 of 1998), and Mental Health Care Act (Act 17 of 2002).
  • The National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill establishes a mandatory pre-payment funding system to secure universal access to a comprehensive benefit package.

• Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Trends:

  • South Africa's maternal mortality ratio is 65 deaths per 100,000 live births, with 43.7% of maternal deaths resulting from non-pregnancy-related infections, predominantly HIV/AIDS.
  • Under the Maternal, Child and Women's Health Strategy (2009–2014), 72% of primary health facilities offered basic antenatal care, and 96.9% of pregnant women consented to HIV screening.
  • Infant mortality decreased from 281 per 1,000 live births in 2009 to 121 in 2016.
  • The 2016 South African Demographic and Health Survey (SADHS) recorded that 27% of children under age five suffered from stunting, 3% from wasting, 6% were underweight, and 13% were overweight.

• HIV/AIDS Transmission, Financing, and the She Conquers Campaign:

  • HIV prevalence among women is 13.6%, compared to 7.9% among men.
  • Youth aged 15–24 account for 87% of infections, with females contracting HIV at an incidence rate of 2.38% per year (three times higher than males of the same age).
  • Annual state expenditure on HIV/AIDS is approximately $R23\text{ billion}$, with 80% funded domestically and 20% funded via international donors.
  • The National Strategic Plan on HIV, TB & STIs (2017–2022) targets halving new HIV and TB infections and expanding antiretroviral treatment (ART) to at least 80% of eligible individuals.
  • Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT): Testing coverage expanded from 71% in 2009 to 99% in 2013, decreasing infant transmission rates from 8% in 2008 to 2% in 2013 (a 97% reduction), with 79.4% of eligible HIV-positive pregnant women receiving ART.
  • She Conquers Programme (2016–2019): Supported by a $R3\text{ billion}$ budget across 22 priority districts, reaching 3,000,000 adolescent girls and young women. Interventions (July 2016 – December 2017) conducted over 700,000 HIV tests, connected 26,000 HIV-positive young women to clinical care, delivered life skills training to 560,000 girls, provided post-violence support to 90,000 survivors, assisted 72,000 girls to remain in school, and provided economic training to 19,000 young women.

Article 14: Rural Women's Rights, Land Tenure, and Water Access

• Legal Protections and Structural Land Barriers:

  • Legislative protections are contained within the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act (Act 3 of 1996), Land Restitution and Reform Laws Amendment Act (Act 78 of 1996), Communal Land Rights Act (Act 11 of 2004), and Housing Act (Act 107 of 1997).
  • The 2019 High-Level Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform reported that women account for less than 25% of beneficiaries of state land reform projects.
  • Under communal tenure systems overseen by traditional authorities, women cannot access land independently of male relatives, frequently forfeit tenure upon the death of husbands, and are barred from appearing unaccompanied in traditional council proceedings.

• Basic Water and Sanitation Deficits:

  • The 2019 UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme documented persistent infrastructure backlogs, with rural communities relying on shared river sources and the bucket toilet system.
  • Household water collection duties fall predominantly on women and girls, exposing them to physical and sexual violence when walking to remote water points at dawn or dusk.

Article 15: Equality Before the Law and Rights of LGBTQIA+ Persons

• Constitutional and Judicial Protections:

  • Section 9(3) of the Constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
  • The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA, Act 4 of 2000) created Equality Courts to adjudicate hate speech and discrimination claims. However, Equality Courts remain underutilized, and community awareness pilots in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga were suspended.
  • The Protection from Harassment Act (Act 17 of 2011) enables victims to obtain protection orders against non-domestic offenders, extending relief to LGBTQIA+ victims targeted by strangers.
  • The Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill (approved by Cabinet in October 2016) designates offenses motivated by prejudice against sexual orientation or gender identity as statutory hate crimes.

• State Interventions and Social Hostility:

  • The Minister of Justice established the National Task Team (NTT) on Gender and Sexual Orientation-Based Violence Against LGBTI Persons in September 2011, drafting the National Intervention Strategy (NIS 2014–2017) and establishing a Rapid Response Team (RRT) to monitor court processing of hate crime cases.
  • The SAPS approved Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on 1 October 2019 to prevent secondary victimization of LGBTQIA+ persons during police processing.
  • An HSRC national attitude survey in 2017 found that 44.6% of respondents agreed that sex between women was "plain wrong," and 35% stated they found lesbians "disgusting," highlighting the prevalence of prejudice in society.

Article 16: Marriage Law, Intestate Succession, and Unified Family Legislation

• Jurisprudence on Customary Succession and Primogeniture:

  • In Bhe v Khayelitsha Magistrate; Shibi v Sithole; SAHRC v President of the Republic of South Africa (2005), the Constitutional Court struck down the rule of male primogeniture as an unconstitutional infringement upon human dignity and equality.
  • Parliament passed the Reform of Customary Law of Succession and Regulation of Related Matters Act (Act 11 of 2009), operational from 20 September 2010, bringing customary estates under the Intestate Succession Act (Act 81 of 1987) to ensure female heirs inherit equally.

• Single Marriage Statute Consultations:

  • Marriage is currently fragmented across the Marriage Act (Act 25 of 1961) for civil marriages, the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act (Act 120 of 1998) for customary unions, and the Civil Union Act (Act 17 of 2006) for civil unions.
  • In August 2019, the Department of Home Affairs initiated consultations to draft a single, unified marriage statute that standardizes legal requirements, recognizes unregistered religious marriages (such as Muslim and Hindu unions), and bans child marriages.

General Recommendations No. 19 & 35 and Global Platforms

• Submissions on Obstetric Violence:

  • The CGE submitted evidence to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women concerning verbal, emotional, and physical abuse experienced by women during maternity care and child delivery in public clinics.

• The Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA +25) and Sustainable Development Goals:

  • Marking the 25th anniversary of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 2020, South Africa prepared the Plus 25 Country Report.
  • The CGE served as Co-Chair of the Sector Working Group responsible for Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls) for South Africa's Voluntary National Review submitted to the UN in July 2019.
  • South Africa sent an official delegation to the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) held in Nairobi from 12 to 14 November 2019, reaffirming state commitments to sexual and reproductive health and rights.