The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform will take the 365 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign to Mshadza, Mpumalanga, this Friday.
The event, which will be led by Deputy Minister Candith Mashego-Dlamini, will be held under the theme “Hear Me Too: End Violence against Women and Girls”.
Mshadza, located between White River and Hazyview, has experienced service delivery protests in the past, related to crime and gender-based violence.
The community has raised concerns about the slow pace in addressing the scourge of gender-based violence.
In this light, the department said Mashego-Dlamini, together with other government departments, will address their concerns and seek to arrive at amicable solutions.
“The engagement with the community seeks to raise awareness of the negative impact that violence and abuse on women and children has and craft ways in which to rid society of this scourge permanently,” the department said, adding that women and children are subjected to gender-based violence in or around the places where they work, stay and seek education.
“These violations occur in different ways, including rape, physical violence, stalking, sexual harassment, coerced sex-for-grades and emotional abuse. This violation of their human rights perpetuates gender-discrimination and has far-reaching physical, psychological and educational consequences.”
Mashego-Dlamini is expected to conduct a visit to a centre for people with disabilities, where she will distribute supplies to the 60 children and then conduct a community engagement at the local stadium.
The 365 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign stems from the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign - which is an international awareness-raising campaign.
It takes place every year from 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to 10 December (International Human Rights Day). The period includes Universal Children’s Day and World AIDS Day.
South Africa adopted the campaign in 1998 as one of the intervention strategies towards creating a society free of violence.
The campaign continues to raise awareness amongst South Africans about the negative impact of violence against women and children (VAW&C) on all members of the community. – SAnews.gov.za
