1. What are your views on the accessibility of medical services and legal aid for victims of rape and gender-based violence in South Africa?

Charlene: We don't refer to ourselves as victims, we consider it derogatory language, if you're dead you're a victim, at all other times you are a survivor. Be very careful Seyoung, the language you use toward those who experience trauma can enable or disable them. It's easy to get medical services, but what is more important is accessiblity to PEP to prevent HIV, remember close to 1 in 2 SAs are HIV infected, and research has shown (refer to info on site) that 40% of SA women raped will become HIV+ if they don't receive PEP in time. There is no legal aid for those raped or who experience domestic violence - however, there is legal aid for those accused of rape or domestic violence. Pretty shocking, isn't it? The state's excuse is that rape is a crime against the state so women get the services of prosecutors (as they do in all countries of the world), same for DV, but if she wants further legal measures against him eg a protection order, that's her problem, she has to get it herself.

2. What are your views on how well communities are informed about medical services and legal aid?
CS: Very poorly informed, but rape is so prevalent (a rape every 26 seconds, one in 2 women raped in her life time, 1,69m rapes a year (SA Law Commission, 1999) although only 55 000 reported, we know what our rights to access are.

3. How do you feel about the effectiveness of the 365 Day National Plan recently launched in South Africa to end gender-based violence?
What it effectively means that nothing additional happens, we're in a situation of the same old non attention (only 1% of cases of rape result in conviction, SA Dept of Justice) - all it is, is better PR. And that helps no one.

4. Some say that the legislative priority is in streamlining the criminal justice system's methods of handling rape cases, while providing easier accessibility to medical services. Others argue that such legislative intervention is ineffective without first dealing with societal and cultural issues, such as the low status of women and girls and the emergence of "the virgin myth". What are your views on this?
CS: You cannot approach merely one issue eg medical or legal or cultural ... there has to be a holistic approach, everything needs to be addressed simultaneously. But the priority has to be on effective investigation and sentencing because without that it's open season on women; rapists rape in such high numbers because they know it is so easy to get away with it; women fail to report because they know the lack of success in prosecutions and too that the police will give them a crushing/depressing run around. And cultural garbage prevails because of a lack of medical treatment eg the virgin rape myth prevailed (see my paper on site) when it was difficult to access arvs/treatment for all. As the rollout of arvs to all has intensified (although still at very low levels with less than a 10th of those infected on arvs), virgin rape has diminished.

5. How do you see the validity of the virgin myth being an underlying reason for the prevalence of rape?
CS: Darling, virgin rape happens in virgins, mostly those under the age of 12. Use logic here - if one in two women are raped in SA, surely you do not think all are virgins? Virgins tend to be children. Rape is the fastest escalating crime in every country of the world, sexual trafficking is now more profitable than drug trafficking, in every country of the world a woman is more likely to get murdered by her intimate partner than anyone else. And in South Africa we have the highest rate of rape in the world - and the most violent. And there is never a single reason for rape, it is multifaceted, so be careful how you write about rape.

6. How should communities be taught to challenge value assumptions that cause women and girls to be viewed as inferior beings?
CS: It has to start with women and girls not viewing themselves as inferior beings and asserting their dignity - it also has to be done by us involving men in pressing for great dignity, respect and equal rights for women. I don't like attitudes from some women that discriminate or are hateful or blaming toward men, that gets us nowhere, we have to involve them in our struggle for greater socio-economic justice.
But rape does not happen because women are viewed as inferior, if that was so the incidence of rape globally would be far higher than it is. In great part it happens because in every country of the world the lowest rate of conviction for any crime is that for rape - it's not investigated forecefully enough and the biggest problem lies with the judiciary who give out meaningless sentences.
I also would not call it a "value assumption" that a female is an inferior being, that is to deny the meaning of the word "value" - I would call it an attitudinal defect.

7. What are your views on possible setbacks of sexual abuse prevention programs? Could unfounded value assumptions influence the methods in which these programs are targeted at victims and communities?

CS: Your use of value assumption is hugely problematic and means I am unable to answer this question. You also don't say which "value assumptions" you are talking about. There are also very many types of sexual abuse prevention programmes - which ones are you talking about? If you can be specific I can give you a thoughtful response.
8. What do you feel needs to be understood or considered by those who are working to end gender-based violence?
CS: That we have wasted too much time blaming men. Violence, all violence, is a societal issue. Violence harms not just those who are direct recipients of it, but those around them too. When I was raped it harmed my son, my lover, my male friends ... they too were wounded, confused, guilty and in pain. We have to see that this is a common problem, a universal challenge, every time a person acts to harm another, they wound the world. >br> Mothers need to consider more carefully how we are raising our sons - we cannot be abusive toward our boys in language or actions and then expect them never to harm women. We cannot ask them to be kind to us if we are not kind to them. But too, fathers have to be present in their children's lives (and globally most are not) and have to set good examples.
I'm tired of victim feminism blaming men for everything. We need a new feminism where women are accountable, where they do not blame men's prejudice and discrimination toward us for our failure to thrive ... we need to use that prejudice and discrimination as the fuel that makes us ever more determined to be greater, stronger and more powerful than they, or we believe we can be. I scribbled this note to myself yesterday and have to improve on it, but I will give it to you now, for any benefit it may be - "The minute I categorise myself as a victim of men I condemn myself to subservience, to being eternally lesser. By saying that my intelligence and determination does not allow me the capacity to manage my life, I become an eternal servant to the whims of others. But when I see myself as a strong individual, a person who can challenge and achieve regardless of any obstacle fate puts before me, I become invincible, indomnitable and I achieve more than I could have believed."
And is it hard? Oh my word, it's hard ... it's really hard, but it's much harder to be a victim. It's much harder to be scared. It's much harder to allow myself to wither on the bottom rungs and blame.

World Conference on Religion and Peace.

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