The Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, accompanied by the Convenor of the Gender-Based Violence Interdepartmental Task Team, Ms Nomandla Bloem, today attended the South African Women Lawyers Association (SAWLA) National General Meeting, which was held under the theme; Gender-Based Violence is under-reported, and there is often impunity for perpetrators.
SAWLA is a voluntary, non-profit and non-political industry of women lawyers, with its membership including judges, attorneys, candidate attorneys, and law students, to name a few. It is a networking forum for women in legal careers and aims to promote access to justice, advocacy for the advancement of women, professional and leadership development, and contributes to national and international dialogue.
In wishing them well for the deliberations today, Premier applauded the Association for taking a stand against the abuse of women and children; he further committed to upholding the rights of women and children, ensuring that they are protected at all times and committed to fighting this injustice.
The problem of Gender Based Violence is a complex and multi-layered phenomenon in our society; it is important that Government, civil society, the business sector and the legal fraternity work together in a coordinated manner to eradicate this scourge from society.