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TWO constables from the Nelspoort police station, near Beaufort West, and a construction worker are appearing in court today for the alleged rape, statutory rape and sexual exploitation of four teens. The girls, aged between 14 and 18, lodged official complaints at the Beaufort West police station on Tuesday that the men had performed sexual acts without their consent over a period of time. The complainants allege the incidents took place between January last year and April this year, and again between August and this month. Children’s organisation Molo Songololo director Patrick Solomons said they were “highly concerned” that members of the police were implicated in the case and that one of the incidents allegedly took place at the Nelspoort police station.

As we mark the 34th year after 19 October 1977, South Africa through a Parliamentary probing in September 2011, has reflected on the degree and lack of transformation of print media in our country. Also, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications in July 2011 reflected on transformational challenges in the advertising and marketing industry. These interventions assisted in assessing and taking stock of whether all citizens (poor and rich, rural or urban, etc.) have choice and access to information, freedom of expression, right to communication in languages of their choice. At the Parliamentary discussions, the Print Media of South Africa (PMSA) confirmed the essence of the MDDA report on Trends of Ownership and Control of Media in South Africa (July 2009) which indicated that the pace of transformation in the print media is too slow for a sector that is so critical in the sustainability of our democracy. PMSA reported that only an average of 14 percent of ownership of the mainstream print media is in black (historically disadvantaged) hands and women participation in board and senior management is limited to 4.44 percent. This revelation, 17 years after the first democratic elections in 1994, suggest that all stakeholders honestly and dispassionately confront the question of media transformation and diversity in the interest of all citizens and sustainability of our democracy.

Following the gathering of South African women at the AWID forum in Cape Town in November 2008, as well as resolutions from taken at previous regional African Feminists Forum, feminists living in and from South Africa are coming together for reflection, alliance building and to explore the possibility of establishing a South African Feminist Forum. The two day meeting will take place in Cape Town from the 20th to 21st of October 2011.

Despite efforts to fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Rwanda, it has been noted that the public still misinterprets the campaigns with most thinking that they are aimed at protecting only women and children, and not men. This has contributed to the increasing cases of violence against men, according to the Chief Gender Monitor, Oda Gasinzigwa. "In the past years, very many women and children were victims of GBV, compared to men; which is why most of our campaigns targeted them. But it should not imply that men are ignored in this move, like some people have perceived it," Gasinzigwa noted. She made the observations in an interview with The New Times, reacting to recent police statistics which indicate an increase in the number of men assaulted by their spouses.