Vice President Kamala Harris will have her first private lunch with Secretary of State Antony Blinken Wednesday, meetings that are expected to continue with regularity, according to two administration officials.
Created: 28 January 2021
From a women-only driving school to an all-female taxi service a South African activist-turned-entrepreneur has been tackling high rates of sexual assault by providing safe transport in one of the country s most crime-ridden areas.
The Cape Flats, which lies on the outskirts of the popular tourist city of Cape Town, is notorious for gang warfare, and sexual violence is an everyday fear for women taking taxis or using public transport in the area, said Joanie Fredericks.
Launched last week, Fredericks said her taxi service, Ladies Own Transport, had already received calls from women requesting a ride to work that will keep them safe, with some saying they were smitten with the idea.
“I always knew I wanted to do something about it, but a few weeks ago I heard someone I know personally has been raped and I thought I can’t wait a minute longer,” she said.
In the year ending March 2020, more than 53,000 sexual assaults were reported in South Africa, according to police figures, though women’s rights groups say the true number is likely far higher.
Research shows that in sub-Saharan Africa “transport poverty” inaccessible or unsuitable transport that negatively affects a person’s quality of life disproportionately affects women and girls due to sexual harassment and abuse.
And according to a 2019 index by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security that measured safety in 167 countries, only about 25% of SA women feel safe walking at night.
The Cape Flats, which lies on the outskirts of the popular tourist city of Cape Town, is notorious for gang warfare, and sexual violence is an everyday fear for women taking taxis or using public transport in the area, said Joanie Fredericks
From a women-only driving school to an all-female taxi service - a South African activist-turned-entrepreneur is tackling high rates of sexual assault by providing safe transport in one of the country's most crime-ridden areas.