Sexual and Reproductive Rights
SALC’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights programme has the following objectives:
- To ensure a human rights approach in management of teenage/adolescent and learner pregnancy
- To challenge the practice of child and forced marriage
- To ensure accountability for health care violations relating to sexual and reproductive health rights
- To promote recognition and respect for sexual and reproductive health rights
- To challenge laws and practices that violate sexual and reproductive health rights
- To ensure accountability for and eradication of gender-based violence.
Current cases:
Malawi: Protecting right to freedom of expression for woman human rights defenders
Eswatini (Swaziland): Challenging laws allowing child marriage
Tanzania: Challenging laws allowing child marriage.
Completed cases:
Botswana: Challenging prescription in medical negligence claim
Zimbabwe: Case strengthening women’s access to reproductive health services.
Namibia: Challenging coerced sterilisation of women living with HIV.
Malawi: Advancing the best interests of the child in sentencing of caregivers.
Malawi: Challenge to the arrest and removal from school of pregnant learners
Malawi: Challenging the criminalisation of breastfeeding by women living with HIV.
Lesotho: Challenge to unfair dismissal as a result of pregnancy in the Lesotho Defence Force.
Publications:
Advocacy:
Policy Brief: The Recognition of Customary Marriages In Zimbabwe And The Propose...
The Zimbabwe Marriage Bill,2019 was gazetted and released for public comment on 19 July 2019. The Bill proposes to amend the law governing marriage in Zimbabwe, in order to consolidate the different laws and to align the law with the…
Read More
ESWATINI: DOMESTIC WORK & THE LAW...
The Rights4All Project, under its My Body My Rights Campaign, published a pamphlet setting out the various laws which apply to domestic workers. The pamphlet is a response to the widespread abuse endured by domestic workers in the workplace. The…
Read More
ESWATINI: SEX WORKERS & THE LAW...
The Rights4All Project, as part of its My Body My Rights Campaign, has produced leaflets on the laws which can be used by sex workers to assert their rights. See detailed pamphlet here See summary pamphlet here
Read More
Tanzania: Challenging Child Marriage...
SALC is supporting Msichiana Initiative and Rebeca Gyumi in an appeal filed by the state in the Tanzania Court of Appeal against a judgment obtained in 2016. In 2016, Rebeca Gyumi filed a case on behalf of children at the…
Read More Nigeria: Challenge to arbitrary arrest of women during sweeping exercises...
Factual Background The applicants were among 71 women who were arrested at various public spaces in Abuja between 17 and 26 April 2019. The arrests were carried out by the FCTA Joint Task Team comprising the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Securities…
Read More
News Release: Malawi High Court upholds the rights of detained pregnant learners...
In April 2019, the High Court of Malawi, sitting at Mzuzu, in the case of ON and 13 Others v Child Protection Team issued a judgment reviewing the decision of a First Grade Magistrate to impose fines on learners and…
Read More Media Advisory: Malawi High court to hear case on Freedom of Expression...
Lilongwe, Malawi – On Monday 28 January 2019, the Malawi High Court will hear the case of a female Human Rights Defender who was arrested and detained by the Police for holding a poster deemed to be offensive whilst attending a…
Read More
Protecting right to freedom of expression for Woman Human Rights Defenders...
SALC is supporting the Women Lawyers Association (WLA) of Malawi to challenge the arbitrary arrest and detention of a Woman Human Rights Defender(WHRD) on a charge of "Insulting the Modesty of a Woman" in contravention of section 137(3) of the…
Read More
Calling for the total elimination of violence against women and children in Zimb...
The recent report of the killing of a young lawyer on the night of the 25th November 2018,the International day of Elimination of Violence Against Women, by her partner brings home the gravity and currency of the problem of violence…
Read More
Botswana Court Decision amounts to a Step in the Right Direction in ensuring the...
The recent decision of the Botswana Court of Appeal in the case of GMJ v Attorney General clarifying the limits of the law regarding the prescription of medical negligence claims, is an important decision, not only in general, but as…
Read More
Dynamic African Human Rights Defender wins UN Human Rights Award 2018...
SALC extends its hearty congratulations to a prolific young woman human rights defender, Rebeca Gyumi, for receiving the well-deserved UN Human Rights Award for 2018 in recognition of her work in advancing the rights of girl children. Rebeca is the…
Read More NEWS RELEASE: Botswana Court of Appeal Clarifies the Limits of Prescription in M...
The Botswana Court of Appeal, in the case of GMJ v Attorney General has issued a decision upholding an appeal against the decision of the High Court to dismiss a claim for damages for medical negligence on the grounds that…
Read More