Southern Africa: Justice for survivors of marital rape, how far has SADC come ?

SADC is making progress, albeit fraught with uncertainties, towards a legally binding Gender and Development Protocol scheduled for adoption in 2008. Yet, it is surprising that the current draft of the Gender and Development Protocol excludes marital rape from the ambit of gender based violence, making it diametrically opposed to the 1998 commitment by SADC governments, and indeed, the progress already made in six countries in the region. Are we taking a step back or moving forward?