Agisanang Domestic Abuse Prevention and Training (Adapt), a NPO which provides counselling support and organises campaigns against domestic abuse believes its programmes may not be effective in Alex.
Irene Khumalo, of the organisation, said this could be due to the fact that many residents of Alex only stayed in the township for a short while, resulting in neighbours not getting to know each other well. “This makes them not to care about the area and for each other, resulting in social stress and subsequent domestic violence, which has become endemic,” she said.
Khumalo said they handled about 150 abuse cases monthly and these were on the increase. She added that most households were unaware of how to handle violence within the home. The organisation handled many cases referred to them by the victim empowerment and domestic violence units of the police, and also had to continuously train police officers to increase their capacity.
Khumalo urged for programmes that would assist in helping restore and promote the good African values of co-existence, interdependence and mutual respect in the township. She also urged community members to participate in Adapt’s domestic violence programmes to learn ways of good neighbourliness and about the legal support at their disposal.
