School of Law (ETDs)

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Gender and Transitional Justice in the Central African Republic
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) George, Lucia; Swart, Mia
The Central African Republic has been the scene for many years, even decades, of many conflicts and almost permanent political, social, and economic instability. During the most recent conflicts, in 2002/2003, and in 2012/2013 until today, women have been the first victims of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), understood in its broadest sense as also including violations of socio-economic and cultural rights of which they were the first targets or from which they suffered the most disproportionate consequences. This thesis proposes to assess whether the transitional justice mechanisms created in the Central African Republic can combat GBV by challenging the unequal gender norms and structures pre-existing the conflicts and, therefore, bring about a significant change in the life of women in the country. To do this, this thesis proposes to look at the concept of transformative justice to analyse what this concept means in theory and practice. In doing so, three different modes of justice will be successively studied: interactional justice, distributive justice, and normative justice from the perspective of a feminist analysis of transitional justice.
Strengthening Accountability for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence under International Human Rights Law
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Leung, Ka Yan; Chenwi, Lillian
This research report critiques the current mechanisms available for ensuring accountability for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the context of international human rights law. It appraises the international, as well as regional, legal frameworks for SGBV, identifying common mechanisms flowing from those instruments. The report also identifies gaps and current challenges in the efforts to provide increased accountability for survivors and victims of SGBV. Key findings include an inefficient, heteronormative approach in respect of, and protection for, non-binary and gender-diverse victims of SGBV, and poor reporting by states in terms of the international human rights instruments. It concludes that taking a more gender-inclusive approach to instruments, and advocating for a new binding instrument with a more encompassing human-rights framing, may be of value, alongside the development of more progressive feminist jurisprudence. While these solutions do not claim to be the cure for all SGBV violations, they will greatly contribute to the protection of persons affected
A feminist ontology to data commercialisation: Evaluating women's access to information and privacy within the medico-legal sphere in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Neto, Ângela Pacheco; Swemmer, Sheena
With the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, rapid exchanges of data have intensified. Technologies like biometric monitoring, female-oriented technologies, and artificial intelligence bring with them a host of legal issues related to consent, access, privacy, and liability. Vulnerable populations or groups must be given particular attention as standard data practices serve to reinforce existing inequalities. For this reason, female-directed and female- generated health data is specifically considered herein. By employing a data feminism lens, it becomes apparent that the current South African regulatory framework has been legislatively misapproached with regards to the medico-legal sphere in South Africa. The methodology herein draws on critical review methods, thematic analysis, and legal discourse analysis, ultimately utilising the general principles of research inherent in the socio-legal sciences. A responsive and flexible health data law that incorporates intersectional narratives is advanced. This holistic response must account for the two-faced coin of female access to information and privacy in order to address historical structures of power inequity
A legal analysis of the complexity of race and gender disadvantage in terms of the Employement Equity Act in South Africa
(2019) Mushariwa, Muriel Tapiwa
Centuries of colonialism and Apartheid created a legacy of inequality in South Africa that the democratic Constitution, 1996, seeks to address. The constitutional mandate in section 9 of this Constitution, enacted through the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA), requires designated employers in the public and private sphere to address the inequality in the workplace through the application of affirmative action. The EEA identifies the beneficiaries of affirmative action policies as black people, women and persons with disabilities. It is clear that these constitute three distinct groups, but that it is also possible for an individual to belong to more than one of these collectives. For example, black women fall within two designated groups on the basis of race and gender, and this dual disadvantage creates a multi-layered, unique and complex type of inequality. The main aim of the EEA is to create a representative workforce, and designated employers have a duty to break down the barriers that prevent members of the designated groups from entering the workplace. Once employed, employers need to assist members of the designated groups to progress in the workplace. However, having a representative workforce does not translate into a transformed workforce. It will be argued in this thesis that a transformed workplace is representative, but also requires the breakdown of institutional norms, processes and structures that prevent the progression of members of the designated groups. The question to be asked is whether affirmative action, in its current form, is able to transform the workplace. To answer this question, it is vital that consideration be given, firstly, to the type of substantive equality that is to be achieved in the application of affirmative action. It will be shown that the aim should be a transformative substantive equality of outcome. Focus will be placed on the fact that individuals who fall within the designated groups are not equally placed in terms of their experience of disadvantage. It is submitted that consideration of differing experiences of disadvantage needs to be taken into account so as to avoid the creation of an elite middle class black, and possibly male, group, which benefits from affirmative action to the exclusion of others, thus hampering the achievement of equality in the workplace. This thesis will show that a transformative form of substantive equality of outcome needs to be applied to affirmative action in the workplace. This transformative form of substantive equality includes a situation sensitive approach to the implementation of affirmative action in the workplace. A situation sensitive approach will apply affirmative action strictly on a case by case basis with regard to the demographic profile of the specific workforce, and the employment equity policy of the particular workplace. A one size fits all approach cannot deal with the complexity of disadvantage that needs to be addressed. It will be argued that, besides a situation sensitive approach to race, gender and disability, the issues of social, political, economic and educational disadvantage are factors that should be given consideration in identifying the true beneficiaries of affirmative action. To further illustrate this point, particular attention will be given to women within the designated groups, in order to unpack the nature of disadvantage they experienced in the workplace. Two case studies, focusing on women in male dominated professions, the legal profession and the mining industry, will be used to illustrate this point. This thesis will show that ultimately, the goal of affirmative action must be seen to be to change the workplace by breaking down both the visible and invisible barriers of equality and, in doing so, create an environment where, constitutional values of equality, human dignity and freedom are truly recognized and protected.

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