Alumnus Thrives at South African Medical Research Council

Law Professor Nominated for Prestigious International Programme

Associate Professor in the School of Law Willene Holness was nominated by the US Consulate in Durban to attend the International Visitor Leadership multi-regional programme: The US Judicial System: Protecting Women and Children in the US in October.

Funded and hosted by the US Department of State, the programme took place in four cities: Washington DC, Minneapolis, Colorado Springs and Miami.

Holness met with stakeholders from the US justice system, law enforcement, human services (the equivalent of South Africa’s Department of Social Development) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The discussions centred on trafficking in persons, domestic violence, child protection and children in conflict with the law. Amongst other things, the programme aimed to explore strategies to address the challenges confronting interventions for women and children, and to create linkages among professionals in the legal and related fields working to promote international cooperation to strengthen access to justice for these vulnerable groups.

Holness was one of 17 professionals from different countries such as Morocco, Palestine, Malaysia, Serbia, Pakistan, Egypt and Romania, including judges, magistrates, prosecutors, social workers, and human rights defenders. She remarked that the personal and professional relationships built with these colleagues working in related fields was a highlight of the programme. This fostered global networks that she seeks to build on in the academic sector through collaboration on relevant research but also through requisite law reform on the protection of women and children in South Africa and the continent. The cultural highlights included a visit to the African American Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC and the hospitality of American families who invited the visitors to dinner for the purposes of cultural exchange.

During the three-week programme, Holness met with professionals from organisations such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington DC, an NGO working with families, victims, and law enforcement to prevent child abductions, recover missing children and provide services including data analysis to deter and combat child sexual exploitation; Judge Sophie Vuelo of the Minnesota Second District Court on handling juvenile cases; Justice Anne McKeig, a judge from the Minnesota Supreme Court on child welfare and protection cases of Native American children; Safe Passage, a one-stop wrap-around service for child victims of sexual offences in Colorado Springs with forensic examination and the police co-located and offering intersectoral support to child victims and families; and the social work faculty as well as the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies at Florida International University, where as a part of a panel, she engaged with social work students on approaches to child protection. Holness also engaged with researchers, advocates and lobbyists on issues relating to gender-based violence and discrimination.

Holness noted that this professional experience highlighted the need for continued interdisciplinary research and lobbying for necessary change in the child protection system. She hopes to expand on the interdisciplinary LLM and MPhil in Child Care and Protection offered in the School, one of a select few of such programmes offered on the continent. She aims to maintain links with colleagues from the programme and professionals from the US through the Navi Pillay Research Group and will apply some of the innovative approaches she learnt during the programme in her research, teaching and supervision as well as her community work in the disability sector and the AULAI Trust, a fund for legal aid and clinical legal education institutions at universities and community-based paralegal advice offices in South Africa.

She expressed her gratitude for support from the School of Law, the US Consulate in Durban and the US Department of State to attend this prestigious programme whose alumni include more than 335 former heads of state and governments.

Words: NdabaOnline

Photograph: Supplied