Day 60/100
Response, care, support & healing is the core focus of NSP GBVF Pillar 4. The 100-Day Challenge team in Lejweleputswa District was tasked with improving the effectiveness of the local GBVF referral system. Initially, this team aimed to make sure that the District municipality, regarded as a hotspot, would become an easier place for one to be. But, Lejweleputswa is vast, and as a result the target area was narrowed to Matjhabeng Local Municipality which covers six towns – Welkom, Virginia, Henneman, Ventersburg, Odendaalsrus and Allanridge.
“We want to ensure that we do respond through care, support and healing, which is what we are currently doing with the assistance of the stakeholders,” said Pitso Merek of Safer South Africa, the team’s mentor. They said they would increase services accessed by 300% and some people called it a mammoth task. But they are already halfway there.
The team mentors have undertaken radio engagements to sensitise the community about the fact that withdrawing cases limits access to services and even if they don’t report cases they are still left with emotional scars that need to be attended to.
The appeal was to encourage victims and survivors to seek counselling and support as unresolved trauma can lead to anger and depression and contributes to the upsurge in womxn being convicted of violence that is in reality self-defence.
The team wants to make sure that everyone who reports a case is given the support they need to see it through. GBV does not exist in isolation and it often spirals out of control into an abusive cycle aggravated by drug and alcohol abuse with trauma being the underlying causal factor. Lack of resources and digital poverty continues to deepen the societal divide. Addressing these systemic issues will be critical to ensuring an effective response that is supportive, caring and healing.
“Healing is not only for the victims that are affected by GBV, but as a country we need healing. We’ve gone through a lot with our history explaining that haven’t really dealt with issues. There’s so much anger that is bottled in and that needs to be released. So in some of these interventions where people are dealing with survivors of gender-based violence, they should also trying opening it up to hear what other people are saying, including the perpetrators. Why are they really committing these crimes? What is leading them into this?” said Sibs Mthembu, Office of the President.
For questions or to arrange an interview with any of the team leaders, please contact Candice Ludick on [email protected] or 060 715 3607