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ACCOMPLISHMENTS
GENDER RESEARCH & ADVOCACY PROJECT

1. RESEARCH
The GR&AP regularly conducts research to assess the effectiveness of existing laws and proposed legislation. The GR&AP has produced major research reports on the following issues:

  • Marital property
  • Inheritance
  • Child maintenance
  • Affirmative action for women in government
  • Domestic workers
  • Divorce
  • Recognition of customary marriage
  • Domestic violence
  • Rape
  • Child and vulnerable witnesses
  • Commercial land reform
  • Commercial sex work

2. LAW REFORM
GR&AP has been involved in the actual drafting of the following pieces of legislation:

  • Combating of Rape Act 8 of 2000
  • Combating of Domestic Violence Act 4 of 2003
  • Maintenance Act 9 of 2003
  • Criminal Procedure Amendment Act 24 of 2003 (to assist vulnerable witnesses)
  • Children’s Status Act 6 of 2006
  • draft Child Care and Protection Act (expected to go to Parliament in 2008)
  • draft Divorce Act
  • draft Marital Property Reform Act

GR&AP has provided influential input on specific aspects of the following pieces of legislation:

  • Social Security Act 34 of 1994
  • Married Person Equality Act 1 of 1996
  • Affirmative Action (Employment) Act 29 of 1998
  • Communal Land Reform Act 5 of 2002
  • Labour Act 15 of 2004, and Labour Act 11 of 2007 which will replace it
  • draft Recognition of Customary Marriage Bill

3. TRAINING
Developing gender-equitable laws are important, however there is still need to make sure that these laws are properly understood and implemented. The GR&AP is committed to empowering women by educating them about their rights and responsibilities at law.

The GR&AP trains service providers (such as magistrates, prosecutors, social workers and police) on new laws, and also organizes workshops to train trainers so that they can inform their communities about these laws. In addition, the GR&AP runs training of trainers on advocacy in order to empower communities to advocate for their own rights. The GR&AP also produces information for educational purposes - books, booklets, leaflets, videos and radio programs. Most of these are available in a number of languages.

4. PUBLICATIONS AND AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS

GR&AP has produced a large number of educational and advocacy materials, including: summaries of various laws in simple language, posters, newspaper and magazine article, television ‘commercials’, several short films, two full-length movies and a documentary, radio ‘soap operas’, a website and murals on school walls.

The GR&AP has produced a large number of educational materials to assist and increase public understanding, including:

  • Summaries of laws in simple-language
  • Newspaper and magazine articles
  • Television 'commercials'
  • A television documentary
  • Several short films
  • Feature-length films
  • Posters
  • Radio "soap operas"
  • School murals
  • A website

5. PARTNERSHIPS
GR&AP staff have a good working relationships with the NGO community in Namibia, and often work on lobbying and advocacy campaigns alongside a range of other groups.

One aspect of our work is to explain proposed laws in accessible language, and to assist civil society to make an effective input into such proposals. We have in the last few years worked particularly closely with the Multi-Media Campaign on Violence Against Women and Children (an umbrella group for a range of organisations working in the field of violence, now defunct), the Namibian Women’s Manifesto Network (now defunct), Sister Namibia, Women’s Action for Development, Women’s Solidarity, the Gender Research and Training Unit at the University of Namibia (now closed) and the NANGOF Gender Sector (an umbrella body for NGOs working in the field of gender).

We also regularly work in partnership with government on specific projects. We have a particularly close working relationship with the Namibian Ministry of Justice, the Namibian Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare (previously the Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Welfare), the Law Reform and Development Commission and the Woman & Child Protection Units (police stations which specialise in violence against women and children). We have served on several working committees of the Law Reform and Development Commission, and we are members of the Cabinet-mandated National Advisory Committee on Gender-Based Violence, Sexual Harassment and Legal Affairs and the Woman and Child Protection Unit Management Committee.

Click here to find out more about GR&AP's current activities.


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