Sexual misconduct: In politics everywhere?

In 2017 women MPs and local councillors in the UK spoke out against [sexual harassment in parliament and local government]. (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-41917159?intlink_from_url=http://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cw5m7rq7z8rt/westminster-sexual-harassment-scandal&link_location=live-reporting-story). They were not alone; [members of the US senate were also coming under fire for their sexual misconduct.] (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/07/us/politics/al-franken-senate-sexual-harassment.html).

South Africa's political representatives are no better. In 2017 alone 11 cases were either reported and/or finalised. Yet only one case attracted the sort of public outrage necessary to force the resignation of the individual concerned, that of Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mduduzi Manana. In almost all of the remaining cases the individuals concerned largely escaped critical public scrutiny and faced only the consequences of their choosing – if they faced any at all.

South Africa’s political representatives are the guardians of the Constitution and rights it contains, including the right to gender equality and the right to be free from all forms of violence, whether from public or private sources. It is their responsibility to develop laws that advance these rights, hold government departments to account for their (in)action in this regard, and approve budgets that make these rights realities. But political representatives’ ability to improve women and men’s lives is compromised when they appoint abusive men to positions of power.

Political parties that appoint these men, then fail to act against them, or protect them, are also hypocritical. While a great deal of political rhetoric condemns violence against women and children it is simultaneously undermined by parties’ failure to develop systems and procedures addressing sexual violence within their own ranks, or by failing to put their policies and procedures into effect.

The failure to act also hampers South Africa’s efforts to meet [Goal 5 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.] (http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-5-gender-equality) Target 5.5 of this goal is to “ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.” Yet women’s political participation and representation is undermined in environments where sexual violence and abuse go unchecked.

These problems are not new and if allowed to persist there is a risk they will become permanent features of the country’s political landscape. While corruptability, cronyism and patronage are at the forefront of debates around the quality of South Africa’s political representatives, the sexually exploitative and violent dimensions of their conduct should not be overlooked.

This series of posts will focus on these behaviours and look to how law and policy can be used to curb them.