SADC Gender Protocol 2018 Barometer

Book excerpt: The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development is the only sub-regional instrument in the world that brings together global and continental commitments to gender equality in one instrument used to enhance accountability. The Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance is a network of country and regional NGOs that campaigned for the Protocol, it’s updating, implementation and tracking. Originally aligned to the Millennium Development Goals that expired in 2015, SADC Gender Ministers updated the Protocol and aligned it to the Sustainable development Goals (SDGs), Beijing Plus Twenty and the Africa Agenda 2063 in 2016. In July 2017, the Ministers adopted a Monitoring, Evaluation and Results Framework (MERF) that is now the basis of reporting. 2018 marks the tenth anniversary of the SADC Gender Protocol and the Barometer. Moving with the times, the Alliance has expanded the two yardsticks in the Barometer: the SADC Gender and Development Index (SGDI) and the Citizen Score Card (CSC). The Barometer incorporates many MERF and SDG indicators, as well as its own unique measures of voice, choice and control. The Barometer also introduces the Gender Responsive Assessment of Constitutions and Laws conducted by Alliance experts and networks around the region. A wealth of data, insights and analysis awaits all readers of the Barometer, that will also be made available online and in multi-media formats. The “SADC we want” is one in which citizens engage; step it up for gender equality, and make sure we achieve Planet 50/50 by 2030!