Charter
2021.12 – ongoing
Project description:
Charter is a values-based framework of collective accountability, transparency and solidarity aimed at creating safer, more enabling conditions for women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or questioning, intersex and non-binary (LGBTIQ) people in the South African arts sector. It aims to proactively challenge the current culture of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the South African arts sector by enjoining individuals, collectives and organisations to adopt its five core principles: Transparency and Accountability; Challenging Unequal Power Relations; Recognition of Unique Vulnerabilities; Taking a Stand on Believability; Safe to Create, Together.
By promoting proactive steps sector stakeholders can take, Charter is a self-regulatory frameworks that can pre-empt and inform legal developments within the largely unregulated environment of the South African arts sector, facilitating adoptees to develop their internal capacity to both prevent and effectively respond to GBV.
Project inception partners:
The National Arts Festival (NAF); GALA Queer Archive; The Centre for the Study of Race, Gender & Class (RGC), University of Johannesburg (UJ); The Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA).
Project working group:
Prof Victoria Collis-Buthelezi (RGC Director), Keval Harie (GALA Director), James Macdonald (RGC Research Coordinator), Naadira Patel (Designer & RGC affiliate), Sibongile Ndashe (ISLA Executive Director), Dr Ruth Nekura (ISLA Legal Director), Nobesuthu Rayi (NAF Executive Producer), Rucera Seethal (NAF Creative Director), Amie Soudien (Arts Writer & GALA affiliate).