Title

The legacy of Prudence Mabele: Championing gender justice and health equity

Code

THSS01

Session Type

Special Session

Venue

Hall 12

Date Time

Thursday 26 July, 13:00 - 14:00

To ensure a more sustainable, equitable and just response to HIV, it is imperative that gender justice and health equity are always included as essential parts of our approach. Protecting and promoting gender justice and health equity presents both challenges and opportunities that should be leveraged to better inform a holistic response. Through a facilitated and interactive high-level panel discussion of policy makers, funders, activists and programmers, this special session will also honour the legacy of a global champion of both, Prudence Mabele (1971- 2017). As a trailblazing activist for the rights of women and people living with HIV, Prudence embodied both of these aspects in all of her work. With the inaugural presentation of this new multi-year endowment in tribute of her life and work, the Prudence Mabele 2018 Prize recognizes a recipient who embodies these values and who was selected from public nominations earlier this year. The Prudence Mabele Prize will ensure that her legacy lives on and that unseen champions of gender justice and health equity are celebrated.

13:00 THSS0101	Welcome Shaun Mellors, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, United Kingdom Yvette Raphael, APHA, South Africa

13:05 THSS0102	Setting the scene Yvette Raphael, APHA, South Africa

13:20 THSS0103	Prudence Mabele Prize Yvette Raphael, APHA, South Africa Shaun Mellors, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, United Kingdom

13:28 THSS0104	Panel discussion Princess Nothemba (Nono) Simelela, World Health Organization, Switzerland Patrick Gaspard, Open Society Foundations, United States Mercy Ngulube, CHIVA, United Kingdom

13:55 THSS0105	Closing remarks Shaun Mellors, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, United Kingdom Yvette Raphael, APHA, South Africa

AUTHOR

Resty Nalwanga

SUMMARY

Ensure a more sustainable, equitable and just response, it is imperative that gender justice and health equity are always included as essential parts of our approach. The panel honored the legacy of a global champion of both, Prudence Mabele and featured the winner of the inaugural Prudence Mabele Prize.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Prudence Mabele Prize, was established to recognise the efforts of a female advocate of gender justice and health equity and legacy of Prudence Mabele, the activist and the first Black woman in South Africa who disclosed her HIV status in 1992 in her country. The inaugural Prudence Mabele Prize was awarded to Duduzile (Dudu) Dlamini, a sex work activist from South Africa. In her remarks she highlighted the issue of multiple stigma towards people living with HIV, towards people engaged in sex work and how that affects not only the person but also her/his family. The session featured representatives from OSF and Ford Foundation who endowed the cash award of US$25,000 and friends of Prudence who shared their memories of Prudence as a woman who had authentic and refreshing ways. The panelists called on men to get involved in advocacy for gender justice and health equity.

CRITICAL ASSESSMENT

Celebrating the heroes of our movements - like Prudence and Dudu - gives inspiration for the greater solidarity across movements -- in the field of HIV, feminism, gender and reproductive justice, sex work and health equality and beyond.

AUTHOR

Felicita Hikuam

SUMMARY

The inaugural Prudence Mabele Prize, established to recognise the efforts of a female-identified advocate of HIV and gender justice making deep connections between the fight against HIV, feminism, and gender and reproductive justice was awarded to Duduzile Dlamini, a sex worker activist promoting social justice in South Africa.

HIGHLIGHTS

The largest ever prize awarded at an International AIDS Conference was created by the IAS through an endowment from the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundations in partnership with the Positive Women’s Network of South Africa. It honours the legacy of Prudence Mabele, a women’s rights, HIV and social justice activist and the first black woman to publicly reveal her HIV-positive status in South Africa. The inaugural recipient of the award, Dudu Dlamini was recognised for her passion for social justice and sex workers rights. "I am grateful for this recognition to be seen to be walking in Prudence's footsteps because I am very sure that every other nominee for this award was capable of winning the award. I accept this on behalf of all the other sex workers that make my work possible and all my colleagues at SWEAT, Sisonke and Mothers for the future," she stated.

CRITICAL ASSESSMENT

"This award is a revolutionary prize that comes with commitment and expectation of accountability. Honouring the legacy of Prudence Mabele, Dudu's leadership and courage in her work advocating for the sex workers community embodies so much of what Prudence stood for throughout her life. They both share a vision of social justice that seeks to protect the human rights of the marginalised and we are delighted that Dudu has been selected as the first prize recipient of the Prudence Mabele award for the values and spirit and activism that she clearly brings to this work," said Yvette Raphael.