On Friday 2 December Raymond Nongxaza, Chief Whip of Theewaterskloof (TWK) Municipality, led an awareness march against GBV in Caledon, walking from Uitsig to the town hall.
He told Hermanus Times: “This walk is to bring awareness of rape and woman and child abuse.”
Less than 1% of victims report gender-based violence (GBV) to the police.
Four South African women are killed by their partners every day. Domestic violence has the most repeat victims. On average, a victim suffers 35 assaults before reporting it for the first time. The South African female homicide rate is six times the global average. More than 41% of rapes reported involve children under 18. These are just some of the very grim statistics reported on MOBIEG (a medium for online text-based counselling) on 1 January 2022.
GBV is constantly addressed in the media, but many feel the government’s repeated promises to end this vicious cycle constructively is mere lip service. Therefore, many protests are held outside courts to oppose bail applications of alleged perpetrators and awareness marches are organised.
Said Nongxaza: “Gender-based violence occurs every day and we always have to make people aware of it. We need to speak about it. Real men do not abuse, nor do they rape. We need to protect our women and children, which is within our power, and to ensure they are protected. I call on all men today to refrain from abuse. Without women we are nothing. Let us hold hands and protect our women and children.
“I am aware there is violence against men too, and that’s why we must also enter into dialogue with men to hear what they experience. Next year we will go from town to town, meeting with both men and women, and we hope to engage with them to ensure that we can work together regarding this issue.”
To use MOBIEG’s online text-based counselling send a WhatsApp on 060 047 0000.
