On the 8th August amandla.mobi together with Sonke Gender Justice attempted to handover a campaign, supported by over 3, 000 people, calling for a commitment to the development and implementation of a National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
The Minister was attending the ‘SheEO Sleepout’ on the day the campaign was to be delivered. According to its’ website, the SheEO Sleep out aimed “to create awareness, encourage participation & galvanise nation to support & empower vulnerable communities”. Minister Susan Shabangu reportedly requested that the venue and date are changed so the event “could be used as a tool for raising awareness around gender based violence”.
“A Minister, who is entrusted to support survivors of GBV should be doing much more than raising awareness. She should be using her institutional power to respond to the crisis facing women”, said Koketso Moeti, the executive director of amandla.mobi
It is clear that people are galvanised, thousands are supporting the call of organisations such as Sonke Gender Justice who have been leading the charge on the issue.
We are aware that the Department of Women will be hosting dialogues on GBV and that the concept note for these states that violence against women is a priority for her Department, which is very different to what she has said in the past. But at the same time, we also note that the department’s actions have been inconsistent with this and also that it is not being treated with the urgency it should be.
“Although we were denied access into Constitutional Hill to deliver the campaign to the Minister, we will continue to call on the department to ensure better service delivery for victims of violence, addressing the critical primary prevention aspect of GBV and rolling out prevention programmes that address harmful gender norms and violent masculinities” said Koketso Moeti.
“The clock is ticking for women’s lives, it is very evident that much more than awareness raising is needed. As every report on a woman killed by a man shows, the consequences of doing nothing can be deadly” concludes Moeti.
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For more information and interviews, contact:
Koketso Moeti
082 583 5869
