Show that you care – support this Campaign

An appeal by the Deputy Minister of Correctional Service, Ms Cheryl Gillwald, MP

The 16 Days of Activism Campaign: No Violence Against Women is a United Nations-endorsed campaign. It takes place annually between 25 November (International Day of No Violence Against Women) to 10 December (International Human Rights Day). The South African Government runs a parallel campaign that includes issues relating to violence against children. This Campaign focuses primarily on generating an increased awareness of the negative impact of violence on women and children. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS),as Government’s lead department, has been tasked, by the Presidency, to coordinate the national Campaign. This task implies the delivery of a campaign with an increasingly broader reach than all the preceding years. Over the past three months the Office on the Status of Women (OSW), the Office on the Status of the Child (OSC) and the Office on the Status of Disabled Persons (OSDP)– all units within the Presidency – have been working with the DCS, the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) and other sectoral partners to develop a national calendar of events that we hope will resonate with an even broader South African community, across the urban- rural divide.

The purpose of the Campaign is:

• To generate an increased level of awareness amongst South Africans pertaining to the incidence of violence perpetuated against women and children, how it manifests itself within the South African community and the negative impact it has on these vulnerable groups;
• To challenge perpetrators of these offences to change their behaviour;
• To enhance and increase partnerships between government, the private sector, civil society, organised labour, sectoral groups, the faith-based organisations, the media (electronic and print) and the diplomatic community in an effort to spread the message;
• To align events in the national programme with that of the theme for this year, which is Unite against woman and child abuse;
• To raise funds for NGOs that work within the sector, providing invaluable support to the victims and survivors of violence;
• To communicate through the most effective and appropriate channels aiming to reach the maximum number of people across the country, particularly women and children residing in rural areas;
• To engage actively with men and boys in the discourse about combating violence in our homes, our communities and in the workplace; and
• To highlight the stories of survivors of gender-based violence and the impact that the Campaign has had on their lives.

White Ribbon of Solidarity
South Africans are called to support the Campaign by utilising the white ribbon symbol in innovative and inventive ways to reflect solidarity. By wearing these ribbons for the duration of the 16-day period, employers and employees will provide an effective and striking visual tool through which to elicit Campaign support. Unions and professional organisations will also be encouraged to garner support within their ranks alongside members and representatives from the sporting fraternity.

Postcard Pledge
The white ribbon campaign will be managed in conjunction with a postcard pledge campaign. From 17 November 2004, 800 000 postcards will be made available at Post Offices around the country. The public will be invited to sign a no-violence pledge and the Post Office will deliver these cards to a central point where they will be pasted onto a huge Wall of Solidarity. The event will be extensively covered by the media for the full duration of the 16-day Campaign.

National Calendar of Events
NGOs, businesses and government departments at the national, provincial and local levels will prepare sector-specific, rural-and urban-based activities for the Campaign. This information can be fed into a national calendar of events, overseen and managed by the GCIS. In addition, participating partners will be requested to feature the Campaign logo extensively in internal publications and correspondence, on their websites and in messaging to their clients. They will also be asked to feature the Campaign logo on product adverts and as part of their individual advertising campaigns.

Employers and employees will be encouraged to support the white ribbon campaign and to source their white ribbons (beaded, ceramic or fabric)from women’s empowerment groups that supply these lapel buttons, pins and ribbons. A database of service providers has been compiled.

Campaign Impact
The combination of Government, business and civil society activities and interventions, the envisaged saturation of media coverage via advertising, public service announcements, interviews and editorial pronouncements in conjunction with the extensive education campaign will undoubtedly contribute to a heightened national awareness of the issues related to violence and the importance of integrated solutions to the problem.

What you can do
The rights of women and children are fundamental human rights -entrenched in and protected by our Constitution. They are thus inalienable from, integral to and indivisible from the human rights framework. Gender-based violence in all its different guises is incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person, and must be eliminated. Show that you care -support this Campaign by encouraging businesses, service organisations, social clubs, religious communities to organise events, wear white ribbons for the full 16 days and ensure that postcard pledges are signed.

For further details about the Campaign please contact:
Liezel Delport at 083 253-4884, e-mail Liezel.Delport@dcs.gov.za or
Casper Badenhorst at 082 937-5999, e-mail Casper.Badenhorst@dcs.gov.za

Why is this a “giant”?
There are countless challenges to the structure and prosperity of family life in South Africa today, including violence, poverty, and HIV/AIDS. Since we continue to look to the family as the main source of support, nurture, and development for the society, the threats facing families are indeed threats to nation as a whole.

What are the realities?
VIOLENCE IN HOMES: A significant proportion of children in South Africa experience sexual abuse by 18 years of age, according to the South African Human Rights Commission. There were over 20,000 rapes of children in the year 2001 alone.

CHILDREN LIVING IN POVERTY: Three out of every four children live in poverty. Over 11 million children in South Africa are currently living in abject poverty, according to UCT’s Children’s Institute. This means that there are 11 million children living in households that survive on less than R245 a month. If the figure is raised to R490 per household, the number of children living in households below the absolute poverty line jumps to 14,3 million.

WOMEN-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS: It may take two people to make a family; however, less than 40% of children in South Africa live in homes with their fathers. The majority of households in South Africa are headed by women. Those households headed by women are often significantly poorer than those headed by a man or that have two parents: “In 1995 almost half (49%) of woman-headed households were among the poorest 40% ("poor"), and just over a quarter (26%) among the poorest 20% ("ultra-poor"). By contrast, 31% of male headed households were poor, and only 13% ultra-poor.”

HIV/AIDS and CHILD-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS: HIV/AIDS is a tremendous threat to every family system in South Africa. There are estimates that one out of every 60 children in South Africa is an AIDS orphan. It is predicted that “the number of children in South Africa living alone and under the subsistence level, is expected to increase from approximately 46 000 in 1996 to close on 900 000 in 2011.”

What does this mean?
There is a rich diversity of households, from nuclear to extended families, from women-headed to man-headed households, to those headed by grandparents alone in South Africa. Despite this diversity, family life is bombarded with challenges from outside and from within. If a society is only as healthy as its families, then we have much work to do.

What is being done?
The crisis facing the family is being addressed by academics, NGOs, and government. The Children’s Institute of UCT is working to address problems of HIV/AIDS and children, children’s rights, and child health. NGOs, like RAPCAN (Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect) actively work to support children’s rights and needs. The government’s Child Protection Units continue to be a source of intervention to protect children and families.

What is our responsibility?
How can we as Church leaders work to support healthy and sustainable family life? How can we work with the diversity of family structures that occupy our society? What tangible initiatives can we start to support each level of the family unit, from child protection and development, to parent support and advice networks, to elderly care and nurturance programs?