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SADC Gender and Rights Score Card

The Gender and Rights Score Card (GRS) is an assessment of Constitution and Legal Rights in relation to gender equality in each of the SADC countries. The Scorecard assesses a country’s performance on Constitutional rights, special measures, domestic legislation, equality in accessing justice, marriage and family rights, persons with disabilities, widows and widowers’ rights, the girl and the boy child. These are Articles 4 to 11 of the SADC Gender Protocol.
Scoring: 0 indicates that the target has not been at all achieved, total possible score is the highest value awarded if the target has been completely achieved.
This question requires a valid date format of MM/DD/YYYY.
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ARTICLES 4: CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
1. Enshrine gender equality and equity in their Constitutions and ensure that any provisions, laws or practices do not compromise these.
 
Constitution has been reviewed in line with the SADC Gender Protocol and other regional and international gender instruments.   *This question is required.
Provides for non- discrimination on the basis of sex and others e.g. marital status, pregnancy. *This question is required.
Provides for the promotion of gender equality *This question is required.
The Constitution and laws have no claw back clauses that affect progress in gender equality *This question is required.
The Constitution addresses the contradictions between the constitution, provisions, laws and practices *This question is required.
2. Develop and strengthen specific laws, policies and programmes to achieve gender equality and equity.
The country has a National Gender Policy/ Action Plan and supporting programmes that is well known and is being implemented *This question is required.
The country has a Gender Equality Act or equivalent that is used to advance gender equality *This question is required.
3. Implement legislative and other measures to eliminate all practices which negatively affect the fundamental rights of women, men, girls and boys, such as their right to life, health, dignity, education and physical integrity.
There are legislative measures, programmes involving policy makers/ religious and traditional leadership to raise awareness and eliminate harmful practices *This question is required.
ARTICLE 5 : SPECIAL MEASURES
4. Put in place special measures with particular reference to women in order to eliminate all barriers which prevent them from participating meaningfully in all spheres of life and create a conducive environment for such participation.
The Constitution and or laws allow for affirmative action *This question is required.
These have specific targets for women's representation and participation *This question is required.
The measures are effectively tracked and implemented. *This question is required.
ARTICLE 6: DOMESTIC LEGISLATION
5. Review, amend and or repeal all laws that discriminate on the ground of sex or gender.
All discriminatory laws have been amended or repealed *This question is required.
6. Enact and enforce legislative and other measures to ensure equal access to justice and protection before the law.
Minority rights (eg the disabled, indegenous women, sex workers, sexual minorities) are protected  *This question is required.
7. Abolish the minority status of women.
Age of majority for women and men is prescribed in law *This question is required.
Bride price (lobola) payment is not mandatory or abused to undermine the rights of women *This question is required.
Women can purchase land or immovable property without approval of their spouses, fathers or brothers *This question is required.
Women can obtain birth certificates, Identity documents and passports without the consent of their spouses *This question is required.
8. Eliminate practices which are detrimental to the achievement of the rights of women by prohibiting such practices and attaching deterrent sanctions thereto.
 
Laws in place to prohibit harmful traditional practices *This question is required.
There is evidence of harmful traditional practices being effectively dealt with and declining *This question is required.
9. Enact and enforce legislative and other measures to eliminate gender based violence.
Comprehensive laws to address all forms of GBV *This question is required.
Integrated GBV services within an accessible distance *This question is required.
Victim friendly services at police stations *This question is required.
Health services equipped to address GBV *This question is required.
Increase in reported cases of GBV *This question is required.
Proportion of reported GBV cases successfully prosecuted *This question is required.
Effective prevention campaigns *This question is required.
Changing attitudes towards GBV *This question is required.
Evidence of GBV declining *This question is required.
ARTICLES 7: EQUALITY IN ACCESSING JUSTICE
10. Put in place legislative and other measures which promote and ensure the practical realisation of equality for women.
The country has put in place special measures, policies and laws to ensure equal participation of men and women in  public and private life *This question is required.
11. Ensure equality in the treatment of women in judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings, or similar proceedings, including customary and traditional courts, and national reconciliation processes.
 
Evidence of measures to promote equal treatment of women in judicial proceedings in civil; traditional; criminal courts; national reconciliation processes. *This question is required.
12. Ensure equal legal status and capacity in civil and customary law, including, amongst other things, full contractual rights, the right to acquire and hold rights in property, the right to equal inheritance and the right to secure credit.
Women can purchase property without approval from their spouses *This question is required.
Women can access credit without approval from their spouses *This question is required.
13. Ensure the encouragement of all public and private institutions to enable women to exercise their legal capacity.
Awareness programmes on women’s rights and the justice system *This question is required.
14. Ensure that positive and practical measures are taken to ensure equality for women complainants in the criminal justice system.
The judiciary promotes equal access to justice through awareness programmes and promotional materials *This question is required.
The judiciary is frequently trained on gender equality and women’s rights. *This question is required.
15. Provision of educational programmes to address gender bias and stereotypes and promote equality for women in the legal system.
Increase in female students enrolling and graduating for LLB degrees *This question is required.
16. Ensure that women have equitable representation on, and participation in, all courts including traditional courts, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and local community courts.
Proportion of female and male judges, magistrates, prosecutors, chiefs , including in traditional courts and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. *This question is required.
17.  Ensure accessible and affordable legal services for women.
Existence of state supported free legal aid for women. *This question is required.
Extent to which supply matches demand *This question is required.
Success rate of cases taken up with free legal assistance *This question is required.
ARTICLES 8: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY RIGHTS
18. Enact and adopt appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure that women and men enjoy equal rights in marriage and are regarded as equal partners in marriage.
Married women can retain their maiden surname *This question is required.
Marital rape is criminalised *This question is required.
Women can choose any contraception method without the consent of their partners *This question is required.
19. Ensure that no person under the age of 18 shall marry.
Legal age for marriage (women and men) is 18 and above *This question is required.
Programmes in place to raise awareness against early and child marriages *This question is required.
20. Ensure that every marriage takes place with the free and full consent of both parties.
Forced marriage is criminalised *This question is required.
21. Ensure that every marriage, including civil, religious, traditional or customary, is registered in accordance with national laws.
Percentage of civil, religious, traditional or customary marraiges enforced by law. *This question is required.
22. Ensure that during the subsistence of their marriage the parties shall have reciprocal rights and duties towards their children with the best interests of the children always being paramount.
AND
23. Enact and adopt appropriate legislative and other measures to ensure that where spouses separate, divorce or have their marriage annulled; they shall have reciprocal rights and duties towards their children with the best interests of the children always being paramount.
Custody court rulings consider women and men as equal potential custodians of children *This question is required.
24. Ensure that where spouses separate, divorce or have their marriage annulled; they shall, subject to the choice of any marriage regime or marriage contract, have equitable share of property acquired during their relationship.
The practice of ‘wife inheritance’ is outlawed *This question is required.
25. Put in place legislative and other measures to ensure that parents honour their duty of care towards their children, and maintenance orders are enforced.
Minimum child maintenance costs per child (US$) is enforced by law *This question is required.
26. Put in place legislative provisions which ensure that married women and men have the right to choose whether to retain their nationality or acquire their spouse’s nationality
Provision/ amendment of legislation ensuring right to choose nationality at marriage *This question is required.
ARTICLE 9: PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
27. Adopt legislation and related measures to protect persons with disabilities that take into account their particular vulnerabilities.
There are special measure to promote participation of persons with disabilities in public and private life *This question is required.
Labour laws ensure equal rights and special facilities for persons with disabilities *This question is required.
Laws on disability rights are enforced  *This question is required.
Persons with disabilities are protected by law *This question is required.
ARTICLE 10: WIDOWS’ AND WIDOWERS’ RIGHTS
28. Enact and enforce legislation to ensure that widows and widowers are not subjected to inhuman, humiliating or degrading treatment.
Existence of national legislation protecting the rights of widows and widowers. *This question is required.
29. Ensure that widows and widowers automatically become the guardians and custodians of their children when their husband/wife dies, unless otherwise determined by a competent court of law.
Custody court rulings consider widows and widowers as equal potential custodians of children after the death of a spouse *This question is required.
30. Ensure that widows and widowers get equitable share in the inheritance of the property of their spouses.
Widows and widowers are protected by law to receive full inheritance from their late spouse *This question is required.
31. Ensure that widows and widowers have the right to remarry any person of their choice.
Wife inheritance is outlawed *This question is required.
32. Ensure that widows and widowers have protection against all forms of violence and discrimination based on status.
Witchcraft killings/violence linked to widows and widowers is investigated and outlawed *This question is required.
ARTICLE 11: THE GIRL AND THE BOY CHILD
33. Adopt laws, policies and programmes to ensure the development and protection of the girl and the boy child.
Adequacy of child protection centres *This question is required.
34. Eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl and the boy child in the family, community, institutions and at state levels.
Pregnant students and teenage mothers are allowed to continue with their education *This question is required.
35. Ensure that the girl and the boy child have equal access to education and health care, and are not subjected to any treatment which causes them to develop a negative self-image.
Equal access to education and health care for the boy and girl child. *This question is required.
36. Ensure that the girl and the boy child enjoy the same rights and are protected from harmful cultural attitudes and practices in accordance with international and regional instruments.
Discriminatory aspects of girl child initiation into womanhood eg virginity testing is abolished *This question is required.
Negative aspects of boy child initiation into manhood, e.g. bullying and violence, is abolished *This question is required.
37. Protect the girl and the boy child from economic exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence including sexual abuse.
The country has a law and programmes outlawing trafficking in persons *This question is required.
38. Ensure that the girl and the boy child have equal access to information, education, services and facilities on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Girls and boys have equal access to inheritance of parents or guardian’s estate.  *This question is required.
39. Develop concrete measures to prevent and eliminate violence, harmful practices, child marriages, forced marriages, teenage pregnancies and genital mutilation as well as mitigate their impacts on girls’ and boys’ health, wellbeing, education, future opportunities and earnings.
Effective prevention  programmes on traditional practices that harm the girl and boy child.  *This question is required.
40. Develop concrete measures to prevent child labour as well as mitigate its impact on girls’ and boys’ health, wellbeing, education, future opportunities and earnings.
Child labour is prohibited *This question is required.
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