NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 23, 2022
Anglo American launches Living with Dignity Hub in South Africa – reinforcing its commitment to ending gender-based violence
Anglo American today officially launched its Living with Dignity Hub in South Africa. The launch of the Hub adds to the company’s efforts to support its workforce in dealing with gender-based violence (GBV), sexual harassment, bullying, victimisation, harassment, and domestic violence.
A key differentiator of the Hub is its provision of first-responder support, including victim-led comprehensive safety, medical, legal, and psycho-social support to victims and their families. While it is an additional confidential channel for reporting incidents in Anglo American, the Hub operates independently from other processes and systems across the company under the auspices of an independent ambassador.
Nolitha Fakude, Chairperson of Anglo American’s Management Board in South Africa, said: “The fact that in 2022 women must still fight for their dignity and, in some instances, their very lives, is deeply disturbing. While it is true that GBV is complex and not unique to South Africa, we must confront aspects of mining’s legacy that relate to gender exclusion and patriarchy. At its core, our Living with Dignity framework is rooted in the belief that everyone has the right to dignity – in the workplace, at home, and everywhere.”
The Living with Dignity Hub is one of the critical strategic responses to emerge from the company’s Living with Dignity framework and its Inclusion and Diversity strategy. Launched two years ago, the framework is underpinned by the company’s zero-tolerance approach to all forms of violence within our workplace and communities. The framework is also supported by our Stand Up for Everyone anti-bullying and harassment campaign and Group Policy on Recognising and Responding to Domestic Violence. The Hub is launched first in South Africa, where Anglo American has its largest workforce footprint, and is expected to extend to other jurisdictions over time.
Vanessa Doble, Head of the Living with Dignity Hub at Anglo American, said: “We can no longer hope to address gender-based violence and the harm women in our industry continue to face through rhetoric. The Living with Dignity Hub demonstrates our commitment to ending gender-based violence and to empowering our colleagues to identify and act against all forms of abuse. Creating an inclusive workplace, where everyone feels physically and psychologically safe, requires us to continue to do more to affirm their right to live with dignity. This is our resolute commitment.”
In South Africa, Anglo American is championing the implementation of law and policy advocacy reforms by partnering with government, civil society, and academia to bring about systemic change to end GBV. More recently, the company has been working with other mining companies and the Minerals Council of South Africa in establishing a national partnership between the council and the Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit (SOCA) in the National Prosecution Authority’s (NPA). SOCA runs Thuthuzela Care Centres, one-stop facilities that offer survivors access to medical, legal, and psycho-social support.
Through this partnership, the sector will be helping:
- Improve the quality of Thuthuzela Care Centres services where they already exist;
- Establish Thuthuzela Care Centres where there is a need and centres don’t exist; and
- Improve access to services in remote areas that cannot sustain full Thuthuzela Care Centres through mobile solutions or providing transportation
Notes to editors:
Further information on Anglo American’s Living with Dignity Framework
- At the inception of the Living with Dignity Framework in 2019, Anglo American partnered with NGO, International Alert, to conduct baseline studies to understand the experience of women and vulnerable groups at our mines in South Africa. The results of these studies led to the development of extensive training and policy frameworks, supporting the physical changes that have been made over the years to improve changing areas for women and provide better security for women at risk.
- At the onset of Covid-19 in March 2020 and as part of the company’s extensive response to the pandemic through its Lives and Livelihoods programme, WeCare, Anglo American partnered with numerous stakeholders, including the UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office (SAMCO) and the National Shelter Movement to provide support to shelters for women and children at risk.
- In 2020, Anglo American became the first private sector member of the National Violence Prevention Forum in South Africa – a collaboration between government, civil society, researchers, international organisations, development partners and the private sector, set up on the commitment to building a society free of violence.
- In 2021, the South African Tripartite Group on Health and Safety, incorporating all labour unions in our South African business, adopted a statement of commitment, acknowledging the role of both organised labour and business in creating safe workplaces, providing adequate services for survivors, and ensuring every employee recognises the personal responsibility they have in preventing GBV, in the workplace and beyond.
- In 2022, our new South African Living with Dignity Hub which brings together our policies and mandates to provide ongoing and committed support to our employees, and contractors. The Hub functions as a support office for the handling of all formal complaints of sexual harassment and gender-based violence (SHGBV) and bullying, harassment, and victimisation (BHV) across our South African business. It centralises case management and reporting, allowing for the building of expertise in managing cases from a victim-centric approach and is overseen by an independent “Ambassador” to safeguard its independence and to ensure we stand by our policies and remain committed to amplifying our efforts.
Anglo American is a leading global mining company, and our products are the essential ingredients in almost every aspect of modern life. Our portfolio of world-class competitive operations, with a broad range of future development options, provides many of the future-enabling metals and minerals for a cleaner, greener, more sustainable world that meets the fast-growing everyday demands of billions of consumers. With our people at the heart of our business, we use innovative practices and the latest technologies to discover new resources and to mine, process, move and market our products to our customers – safely and sustainably.
As a responsible producer of diamonds (through De Beers), copper, platinum group metals, premium quality iron ore and steelmaking coal, and nickel – with crop nutrients in development – we are committed to being carbon neutral across our operations by 2040. More broadly, our Sustainable Mining Plan commits us to a series of stretching goals to ensure we work towards a healthy environment, creating thriving communities and building trust as a corporate leader.
We work together with our business partners and diverse stakeholders to unlock enduring value from precious natural resources for the benefit of the communities and countries in which we operate, for society as a whole, and for our shareholders. Anglo American is re-imagining mining to improve people’s lives.
For further information, please contact:
| Media | Investors | |
UK James Wyatt-Tilby james.wyatt-tilby@angloamerican.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7968 8759 Marcelo Esquivel marcelo.esquivel@angloamerican.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7968 8891 South Africa Nevashnee Naicker nevashnee.naicker@angloamerican.com Tel: +27 (0)11 638 3189 Sibusiso Tshabalala sibusiso.tshabalala@angloamerican.com Tel: +27 (0)11 638 2175 Nompumelelo Kunene nompumelelo.kunene@angloamerican.com Tel: +27 (0) 66 484 5522 | UK Paul Galloway paul.galloway@angloamerican.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7968 8718 Emma Waterworth Emma.waterworth@angloamerican.com Tel: +44 (0) 20 7968 8574 Michelle Jarman michelle.jarman@angloamerican.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7968 1494 |