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NGOs Carry Load 'as Govt Fails Women' -Global Policy Forum- NGOs NGOs Carry Load 'as Govt Fails Women'
Dispatch Online
September 21, 2002
The government is failing the women of South Africa, with many organisations providing desperately needed services without being adequately funded. "We're doing their work for them" is the title given to a newly-released research report resulting from an investigation into government support to non-profit organisations providing services to women experiencing gender violence.
The research was conducted by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation's gender unit, and was jointly funded by AusAid and the Joint Monitoring Committee on the Quality of Life and Status of Women.
Speaking about the research findings, Amanda Gillitt of AusAid said: " 'We're doing their work for them' says what many organisations have known for a long time. Without the NGOs and community-based organisations, women experiencing gender-based violence would have very few options. ''There would be no rape crisis assistance, no help for women trying to navigate their way through the justice system or health system, which so shamefully often lets them down. There are some wonderful policies and fantastic legislation, but it all falls flat in the practical implementation,'' she added.
Researchers Lisa Vetten and Zohra Khan conducted the study, which focuses on the chase for money as an action which distracts organisations from their primary objectives. Vetten said recent gender-sensitivity training with the police showed that a bad attitude to women was not the problem, but rather inadequate resourcing. ''We realised that the source of the main problems seemed to be money, so we decided to look at who gets what from government,'' Vetten said.
Government funding was seen in terms of financial support and in-kind support, such as the use of government premises or the waiving of payment for utilities such as electricity and water. Khan said most funding went to counselling or trauma services, while shelters and other services received much less.
The study recommended government departments should:
* Share information and assist non-profit organisations to deal with bureaucracy; and encourage existing organisations to mentor newer, emerging organisations.
* Tender out more services, particularly in instances where organisations were subsidising government departments; and
* Target funding more effectively by developing a comprehensive strategy to prevent and address violence against women that goes beyond victim empowerment and what the Department of Social Development already provides,
On the flipside, the non-profit organisation sector could:
* Engage with the government to find out about funding opportunities, including investigating local government as a source of support;
* Build capacity in writing business plans and tenders, and engaging with government budgeting processes to ensure money is allocated to activities addressing violence against women; and
* Build and strengthen partnerships with other NGOs, as well as the national gender machinery.
Khan said the Department of Justice funded only one initiative, the national toll-free Stop Women Abuse hotline, while some organisations actually subsidised the government. Many organisations needed funding as they were providing services such as shelters or court programmes which were government functions. Yet funding, although available, was difficult to access.
An analysis showed that the National Crime Prevention Strategy viewed the solution to violence against women in terms of empowering women as victims without looking at men as perpetrators. Information on how government funding worked was needed, the Lotteries Board needed to be improved and the government should extend tenders to NGOs for services they provided.
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