Justice or peace? Ordinarily, the statement that uses these two words is “no justice, no peace”. A statement usually used in protests. Where the protestors say the statement in reference to the fact that without justice, there will be no peace.
However, what I want to speak about is the fact that women at times have to choose between justice and peace. I say this because of the weight that comes with seeking justice – so much so that they would rather choose to not pursue their gender-based violence (GBV) related cases, because of the inefficiencies that exist in systems that should be assisting women as they deal with GBV.
This exists even in our workplaces; many women have to pick between seeking justice or keeping a job. A woman in this economy, where being a woman is characterised by women occupying the lowest levels of the economy, being underpaid, being economically disenfranchised and stifled in the workplace when it comes to promotions. Because of all these factors, women will likely choose peace (not reporting GBV) over seeking justice because the odds are against them. Seeking justice could mean having to choose between keeping your job and not keeping your job.
In SA’s economy, I am almost certain that many women would much rather keep their jobs, because often the implications are not worth the justice. A lot of companies have sexual harassment policies or GBV related policies.
But usually, especially when it is senior staff, women do not get justice, because profit margin over justice. A lot of the time women also face gaslighting, where they are made to feel like they are being overly sensitive for bringing up “minor” actions as a form of abuse. And should a woman follow through and pursue justice, they are likely to be blacklisted, where they struggle getting jobs in other companies because they are labelled as “problematic” for speaking out and seeking justice. Coming out about such matters, for women, can ruin your career. If they do not lose their job, the workplace may become toxic, where they are isolated, victimised or face backlash.
At times victims stand no chance against heavyweights that have resources to access the best legal minds and take the matter forward, challenging the victim in higher courts. And it is no secret that the police and courts have instances where they fail women, in fact I think there are more instances where they fail women than instances where they don’t. According to research agency Columinate, only 16% of respondents reported the harassment related incidents to human resources (HR), while 10% of respondents reported it to the authorities.
This shows that there is a level of mistrust between employees and the very department that should represent them and fight for them, HR, because at the end of the day, they too are employees of the company and want to protect their jobs. Columinate also reports that 51% of workplaces do not have a clear sexual harassment policy in place.
Only 37% of organisations have a clear process to report sexual harassment. 20% of businesses employ a reporting hotline, with another 20% offering training on eliminating sexual harassment in the office. I am reminded of the fact the ANC too didn’t have a sexual harassment policy. If the governing party, that has led this country for many years, does not have a policy on sexual harassment, it is no surprise that women have to jump hoops to get help.
The situation is bleak for those who are abused, if our governing party only recently created a sexual harassment policy. It is no wonder that even our public institutions meant to help and protect women are in shambles. They have no blueprint or leadership that paves the way on the handling of such matters. This also goes to show that women are not prioritised in this country.
What an unjust system that women have to choose “peace” over justice.
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