Executive head, 1st for Women Insurance, Robyn Farrell said, “This is a very important event on the calendar events of the year, as women and men arrive in their numbers to send a message that there is no excuse for abuse. It’s amazing to see the number of men that are here to support this cause and Sisters with Blisters should grow from strength to strength.”
The 5 000 protest walkers united to make their protests heard loud and clear, that ‘enough is enough!’ against woman and child abuse.
In attendance was Josina Machel Mandela, a victim of domestic abuse that left her blind in one eye said, “This is part of our social responsibility as a community, we need to unite against abuse and we should not condone violence, people need to support this cause for years to come.”
Carolyn Steyn, founder of 67 Blankets said, “This protest walk is a powerful statement against women and children abuse, I am standing here weaving together broken lives and broken families for a peaceful and colourful nation.” Former private secretary to former president Nelson Mandela, Zelda la Grange expressed, “The walk was hard, especially the slopey parts of Steyn City, but as you walked you got to realise that you are walking for a good cause. People were aware what they were walking for, which made it a vibrant walk.”
Deputy Minister of Social Development Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu was in attendance to hand-over two R200 000 cheques, which was money raised from the protest walk event, to Hlayisani White Door Centre of Hope and the Women and Men Against Child Abuse organisation.
Hlayisani White Door Centre of Hope serve as temporary shelters which provide accommodation and other basic needs such as food, clothing as well as counselling and psychosocial support to abused women. The centres further protect women from secondary abuse.
The Women and Men Against Child Abuse is an organisation committed to fighting for the rights of the child and to end the abuse of children in the country by striving to form a multi-faceted, dynamic and aggressive offensive against any form of abuse.
“We say no to abuse, as a department it is important to build a determined society and we applaud all who came out to support this cause. Keep it up and keep raising awareness to such initiatives,” Bogopane-Zulu said.
The 1st for Women Sisters with Blisters Protest Walk with Jacaranda FM coincides with 16 Days of Activism, which begins on 25 November and ends on 10 December.
