Who we are
Our areas of expertise
We are a collective of feminists – with different skill sets, intersectionalities and experiences – passionate about ensuring that lesbian women remain on the agenda. We are led by a seasoned activist who also has extensive experience in research and training as well as organizational management. We have been active in the LGBTI movement for many years – as well as the feminist / women’s movement and HIV. Our skills include evidence-based research, advocacy, curriculum development, training and facilitation, organizational development and strengthening and movement building. We use our experiences and our engagement in other spaces to guide our agenda and respond to the needs.
All members of the collective are involved in various other Feminist, SGBV, HIV, LGBTI and women’s rights structures either as volunteers or Board members. Through these other involvements we have access to informal network of lesbian women (in Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal) who are loosely organized in local groups or who come together on a social level. This sometimes increases vulnerability and makes it challenging to deal with issues of violence and abuse.
Enza specialises in developing and delivering strategic interventions that are relevant and responsive to the needs of our partners. Over the past 17 years, we have worked with private and public organisations, local and international NGOs, government departments, trade unions, corporates and donors, to deliver a range of interventions, from small projects to award-winning national, multi-sectoral programmes including
- Addressing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR); HIV: sexual and gender-based violence and femicide (SGBVF); human rights and the law, sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), women’s rights.
- Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) surveys
- Social norms (training and tools)
- Design, development and curation of eLearning content
- Unit standards-based HIV training programmes
- Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) of health, justice and social programmes
Who We Work With
Our Partners
Over the past two decades, we have worked with non-governmental, private and public organisations to deliver a range of interventions, from small projects to award-winning national, multi-sectoral programmes.
Government agencies: DoL, DTI, NDoH, National Libraries, National Youth Development Agency, Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, the South African Police Service
International donor agencies:The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, ILO, JBIC, Netherlands Embassy, NORAD, UNDP
Sector Education and Training Authorities:CHIETA, MerSETA, ETDPSETA, HWSETA, TETA
Trade unions:CEPPWAWU, Hospersa, IMATU, NAPTOSA, NEHAWU, NUM, POPCRU, SACWU, SADTU, SAPU
NGOs: ProBono.org, AFSA, Business Foundation Welkom, Ekangala & Fundisizwe, NCASA, SABCOHA, Frontline AIDS
Corporations: Afrox, Aspen Pharmacare, BMW, BP South Africa, Dulux, Sasol, Toyota, Volkswagen, Motorola
What we can do for you?
- Convert your existing materials into interactive online learning
- Develop an online curriculum
- Host your online learning
- Surveys
- Assessments
- Gap analysis
- Produce reports, policy briefs
Our Approach
Our approach is based on almost two decades experience and helps us to describe what we do, how it brings about change, and how this change contributes to our ultimate goal: improving the lived experience of the marginalized communities and groups in Africa, particularly black lesbian women. Long term systemic change is needed in order to address the multiple layers of oppression, power, discrimination and abuse.
This needs to happen at an individual level, challenging attitudes and behaviours on the basis of gender, sexual orientation and race that fuel hatred and condone violence, at a policy and programme level where particularly black lesbian women are invisible, and at a societal level where entrenched homophobia, misogyny and racism exists and is demonstrated. For us, research and knowledge is a critical cornerstone of our programmes – using traditional and non traditional methodologies to elicit lived experiences and an understanding of the situation on the ground.
We build our programmes on this knowledge – training and addressing attitudes and behaviours that discriminate and silence, developing communities to challenge stigma and violence, and advocate for policy and programme change – addressing individual, programmatic, and societal challenges.
How we make a difference
We believe that building capacity in individuals and organisations is key – so that they are better able to meet the needs of the community they serve. For us it does not end there – we are committed to channeling our resources into our advocacy work – focusing on SGBV.
We aim to bring life to the promises of the key regional legislation, such as the Constitution of South Africa and the Bill of Rights, the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.?
