Vytjie Mentor, leader of the ANC women’s caucus in Parliament, helped shield the parliamentary assistant who complained of sexual harassment by ANC chief whip Mbulelo Goniwe. The Mail & Guardian‘s Tumi Makgetla talks to her.
What channels can women follow if they’ve been sexually harassed by colleagues or members of Parliament?
We have not been very organised. A person would knock on the speaker’s door or come to the chair of the women’s caucus. They are lucky that the chair of the women’s caucus is a strong gender activist. If not, I’m sure that their complaints would fall by the wayside.
Is there a sexual harassment policy for Parliament?
I will be very honest with you and all South Africans. When this case came to me [involving ANC chief whip Mbulelo Goniwe], I said Parliament does not even have a sexual harassment policy. I am ashamed of myself. I’m not blaming anyone, I’m being honest.
We should apologise to the nation that we don’t have a policy. If one doesn’t exist for MPs, I doubt that it exists for staff.
What more could be done to combat sexual harassment in Parliament?
Speaking out is the first thing. I know of many cases of sexual harassment that happen to MPs, but you hear of these things in corridors.
We must encourage people to speak out and to level [the charges] organisationally because then they carry more weight. It does not help to hear so-and-so did such-and-such to so-and-so. We can’t work like that.
I don’t want to denigrate Parliament. It is a scourge that is in all parts of society and it’s a worldwide problem.
I listened with interest to the sexual harassment case in [the United States’s] Republican Party involving pornographic emails. Within a week, someone resigned because the US spoke out.
The state is about power relations and gender is about power relations. You can’t confine yourself only to those power relations like voting and legislation.
What are the obstacles to combating sexual harassment in Parliament?
Men protect their turf and often their instant response is to become defensive. You must appeal to their political or social consciousness for them to remember they’re ANC members. What usually comes first is, ”this person is my buddy”.
I never get that from women. I never get to a point when I must appeal to the speaker’s political consciousness for her to hear me out or have to explain I’m not only being fussy.
But there are many outstanding men. The president, even Jacob Zuma, is an outstanding man. I have never had to appeal to their political consciences [to get support]. General secretary Kgalema Motlanthe and Peter Mokaba were outstanding men on gender relations.
When organisations have policies, they are weapons to work against those tendencies.
How prevalent is sexual harassment in Parliament?
I don’t want to paint Parliament as a bastion of sexual harassment when this happens everywhere. I’m proud of South Africa in terms of the gender work we are doing. In terms of reconciliation, we led the way, we still lead in a way not internalised on sexual harassment and gender relations.
How many complaints of sexual harassment have there been in the past year?
I am aware of cases, but not in a very structured way. When something does not come through a proper channel, it is not filed as a complaint.
How many cases are we talking about?
The ones that I know of that are not properly reported, I’m sure it’s about eight. I don’t deal with matters that are whispered in corridors. I listen and have a casual chat until a person comes with a formal complaint.
Do you have confidence in the process under way with respect to Mbulelo Goniwe?
Yes, I do have confidence. Otherwise I would have kicked up a lot of dust if I thought that something would go horribly wrong.
What do you think of the traditional solution being proposed if Goniwe is found guilty, the five cow fine?
We have received a written letter from the family saying that they were not party to that decision or properly consulted. The family knows nothing about it and rejects it with the contempt it deserves . The letter is signed by the mother, two sisters, a legal representative of the family and the brother.
The person laying this claim is not part of the family; he was an appointee of Chief Nonkonyana because he was the first person the girl complained to.