Carol Bower

Carol holds a Bachelor of Social Science degree from the University of Cape Town and a Honours degree in Psychology from UNISA. She has been actively involved in protecting the rights of women and children throughout her professional career, from 1976, when she became one of the first members of Rape Crisis Cape Town (RCCT). Carol was RCCT’s first Director, from 1996, during a time of profound transition for the organisation: from a voluntary association to a formal organisation with a stable funding base and significant national and international credibility. She served as Executive Director of children’s rights organisation Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN) from 2000 to 2006 when she set up her own consultancy, LINALI Consulting. Since setting up her own consultancy, Carol has been involved in projects ranging from desk reviews and evaluations to advocacy and materials development. She has worked extensively on child rights issues, prevention of an early intervention in child abuse and neglect and in the development of law and policy related to the protection of children. She worked extensively on the 2005 Children’s Act and the First Amendment to the Act, passed in 2007. She was particularly involved with the development, writing and coordination of civil society reports to a several UN and AU treaty bodies, including the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the Universal Periodic Review. She is especially committed to protecting children from the violence of all kinds, especially sexual violence and harsh discipline. Since September 2016, she has served as Chairperson of the Board of the Quaker Peace Centre in Cape Town, South Africa. Since being founded in the mid-1980s, QPC has been at the forefront of peace work in South Africa.