Christian Leaders in Family and Children's Ministries

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