Judges Matter reflects on the IAWJ Conference
Judges Matter reflects on the IAWJ Conference, drawing attention to key issues
From 9 to 12 April 2025, South Africa hosted the International Association of Women Judges as it convened its 17th biennial conference – the first held in Southern Africa.
The IAWJ’s 17th biennial conference was organised under the theme ‘Resilience: Women in Leadership to End Gender-Based Violence & Femicide’, which served as a call to action in addressing the scourge of gender-based violence in South Africa and around the world.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Chief Justice Mandisa Maya described South Africa’s frighteningly high rates of GBVF as “cannibalistic” and lamented how even progressive laws and policies were not effective in addressing the root causes of this scourge. “What we, therefore, hope to achieve is to highlight the critical role that women in leadership positions play in fighting the root cause of this scourge and develop effective strategies for prevention and response,” said the Chief Justice.
Speaking at the same event, President Cyril Ramaphosa added, “As women judges, your lived experiences provide insight into the realities behind the cases, and you have the power to reshape how the law is interpreted, how justice is delivered, and how society evolves”. He added that “in addition to utilising the law, we need to embark on many other efforts to combat gender-based violence and femicide and have a multifaceted approach that will include education and spreading awareness about the importance of gender equality from a young age… We must make men and boys part of the conversation to prevent gender-based violence.”
Both speeches highlight the complexities of dealing with a sensitive and multifaceted topic like GBVF for the South African judiciary.
Under the Constitution, judges and magistrates are obliged to ensure the freedom, dignity and security of all people, particularly vulnerable groups like women and children. Through recently promulgated legislation to specifically combat GBVF, the South African judiciary is a vital cog in the criminal justice system’s response to this scourge. This issue was explored in Plenary Session G (which took place Friday, 11 April, 14:10 -15:00), titled Judicial Activism in Gender-Based Violence Cases. Panellists noted progress on the judiciary’s response to the scourge of GBVF but agreed that this was not enough, and more needed to be done.
At the same time, greater diversity and gender equality were highlighted as key interventions to ensure delivery of the victim-sensitive justice President Ramaphosa speaks of. Thanks to a constitutional injunction for a diverse judiciary in section 174(2) of the Constitution, South Africa’s judiciary now has a 48% women representation (121 of 252), with six of the 15 superior courts headed by women. In the lower court judiciary (the magistrates’ courts), women make up half of 1 475 magistrates, and hold four of eight regional court president positions, and 10 of the 15 chief magistrate positions. These numbers stand in stark contrast to the dawn of democracy in 1994, where only two of about 150 judges were women (with no black woman judge).
This issue was explored in Plenary Session A (on Thursday, 9 April, 09:30 – 11:00) titled Resilient Leadership – Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion. Panellists in that session drew on Chief Justice Maya’s opening address to speak about how women in leadership in various countries have used their positions to advance a more victim-centred approach to justice for GBV victims.
Our colleague, Zikhona Ndlebe, joined a panel in Plenary Session E (on Friday 11 April, 09:30 – 11:00) titled Gender Based Violence-Harmful Practice, to discuss new research on sexual harassment and sexual extortion (‘sextortion’) in the courts in South Africa, Malawi and Uganda.
The discussions in Plenary Session C (on Thursday 10 April, 14:10 – 15:00) titled Workplace Safety for Judicial officers (Mental Health, and Self-Care), zoomed in on an issue that affects how women judges experience wellness in the judiciary, a crucial topic in understanding the judiciary’s response to GBVF. Research published by the Democratic Governance and Rights Unit (which Judges Matter forms part of) shows that South African judicial officers and other court users feel unsafe in court buildings. A research survey of magistrates, titled Under Pressure: Magistrates’ Perceptions Survey reveals that a third of magistrates indicated that they or people they know were threatened or harmed due to their role as judicial officers. In the same survey, 16 per cent of female magistrates stated that they have been sexually harassed or know a magistrate who has been sexually harassed – with the most commonly identified perpetrator being another magistrate.
We therefore took heart in the discussion underlining that, even though women judges around the world experience similar challenges of workplace safety and mental health strain, there was a general feeling of resilience and support among colleagues. We hope that this spurs greater focus and action on judicial wellness.
We believe that the IAWJ conference presented an important platform to reflect on the progress achieved in ensuring women’s active participation and resilience in the judiciary. The discussion also highlights how the judiciary responds to the needs of women and other groups in broader society. We look forward to the implementation of the conference resolutions.
Watch the opening session of the IAWJ Conference here:
Image sourced from https://www.facebook.com/TheSouthAfricanJudiciary
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