by Mireille Wenger
One cannot help but wonder what the women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956 would think about the situation of women in contemporary South Africa.
No doubt, they would be happy about the progressive rights guaranteed by our Constitution and the opportunities that a democratic society presents. However, there is no doubt that they would be horrified about the rates of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) perpetrated daily.
The opening of the 10th Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC) in the Western Cape on August 19 is an important reminder that we have serious work to do to achieve the aspirations of the women who marched this month 68 years ago.
It reminds us that unless we can defeat GBVF, we will never realise a just and prosperous society for all.
But, hopefully, the launch of the centre reminds us that real progress can be made only when we work collaboratively towards a common goal.
Despite the commitments made to end GBVF, the problem remains extraordinary and brutal.
In South Africa, one in five women are victims of intimate partner violence and the rate at which women are killed by a partner is five times the global average. Crime statistics for the fourth quarter of last year indicate that out of the 15824 sexual offences reported, 12 211 were rapes.
We must remember that the figures say nothing of the thousands of cases that go unreported.
The abuses are concentrated in our most vulnerable communities, magnifying their impact on the victims and those around them. The poorest South African women are twice as likely to experience sexual violence and four times more likely to experience physical violence than the wealthiest women.
While we should never attribute just financial costs to the horrific impact of GBVF on women, it helps understand its impact on all of us.
In a report “The Costly Impact of Gender-Based Violence: Private Sector Perceptions and Realities in South Africa”, it is estimated that gender-based violence cost South Africa R36 billion in 2019.
This includes judicial and medical costs, lost tax revenue and the huge human capital loss that occurs due to the extraordinary toll GBV takes on women’s health, wellness, education and productivity. GBVF is everybody’s problem.
While recognising the grand social and economic costs, we must not lose sight of the victims who experience GBVF as a lived reality. They bear wounds and trauma of battering, beatings and gunshots.
Their lives are often irreparably disrupted – they face social stigma, isolation, health complications and economic insecurity. From there, harms radiate outwards, destabilising families, communities and the whole of our society.
For our part, the Western Cape Government is tackling GBVF by prioritising holistic, integrated and longterm actions based on sound evidence.
As outlined in the Premier’s Safety Plan, these include strengthening support and protection of caregivers at risk of violence, through our health system and, through our Department of Social Development, offering programmes to assist families in adopting alternatives to violence.
The establishment of the Violence Prevention Unit in the Department of Health and Wellness is an important part of the process too, as data from our health facilities points us to where the interventions are most needed.
Our collaboration in the establishment and running of Thuthuzela Care Centres is, therefore, an important piece of a larger network of interventions
Thuthuzela Care Centres exemplify a victim-centred approach. Strategically positioned in communities that need them most. They provide holistic support, integrating medical care, rehabilitation and legal assistance within a single, safe and supportive environment.
Survivors often face an agonising dilemma: between focusing on their immediate physical and emotional recovery or undertaking a long and often lonely journey through the legal system.
Thuthuzela Care Centres address the issue by offering both types of support concurrently, eliminating the need for victims to endure additional stress, isolation or re-traumatisation.
The success of the integrated approach is possible through the extraordinary collaboration among government authorities, the private sector and civil society.
TCCs show us that each individual and organisation in society must play a part to end GBVF and, crucially, that the unique contributions we can each make are far more impactful when they are made collaboratively.
While victim support and justice are crucial elements, we should also turn our attention to breaking the cycle of violence. We must ask ourselves: How does a boy become a perpetrator of violence and in particular GBVF?
This is a complex issue, with contributory factors, including poverty, abuse or violence in the home, a lack of positive male role models, and cultural expectations that men should be silent about their feelings
Breaking the cycle of violence can, therefore, be achieved only by addressing the root of it.
Celebrating the power of collaboration to end GBVF is bitter-sweet. It would be better if we lived in a world with no need for TCCs, GBVF Summits and task teams.
Until that time, we must remain steadfast in our efforts to secure resources to expand the programmes and facilities and keep working together to build a safe society for women and girls.
* Wenger is the Western Cape’s Health and Wellness MEC.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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