Faith Mazibuko calls on men to come on board in a fight against women and children abuse
JOHANNESBURG– Shai said It is very difficult to even celebrate the works done by organisations like Ikhaya Lethemba while we still have thousands of reported cases every day.
The MEC for Community Safety in Gauteng, Faith Mazibuko has appealed to all men to be at the forefront of the fight against women and children abuse at the recent launch of 16 Days of Activism campaign in Constitutional Hill, Johannesburg.
Ikhaya Lethemba One Stop Centre, the provincial flagship project of the Department of Community Safety, provides shelter and healing services to gender-based violence survivors. Together with the MEC, they used the opportunity to unveil a booklet that profiles life experiences of gender-based violence victims who used centre services. Women whose stories were featured in the booklet shared their painful experiences after they suffered different kinds of abuse at the hands of men who promised to love and protect them.
“We appeal to all men in our communities to come on board in the fight against the scourge of women and children abuse. The majority of perpetrators of these crimes are men who don’t speak if they have problems. We need men to talk to each other about this. We cannot win this battle alone as government, we need all of you to lend a helping hand. Together we can put an end to women and children abuse,” Mazibuko said.
Founder of non-profit organisation Khuluma Ndoda, actor and self-confessed, now-reformed perpetrator of domestic violence Patrick Shai echoed Mazibuko words and urged men to ask for help when faced with problems in their families. “It is very difficult to even celebrate the work done by organisations like Ikhaya Lethemba while we still have thousands of reported cases every day. The centre continues to receive women who left home because they suffer violence at the hands of men who claim to love them,” Shai said.
“We need more men to take a responsible position in the fight against women and children abuse. Years ago I was an angry man and I used to beat my wife but I received help when I realised that I had a problem.”
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https://www.citizen.co.za/alex-news/140093/south-africas-shocking-gender-based-violence-statistics/
