In a mission spearheaded by the Ekurhuleni Clinical Forensic Medical Services, a team of campaigners swamped Jerusalem informal settlement and taught residents more about domestic abuse and violence against women and children.
Among those who took part in the door-to-door campaign were representatives of the Boksburg SAPS, EMPD Social Crime Prevention Unit, Bertha Gxowa Care Centre, Women’s Directorate from the Ekurhuleni major’s office, Boksburg CPF patrollers, Boksburg Victim Empowerment Centre, Community Development Workers (CDW), Gauteng Department of Community Safety, ward councillors and other stakeholders.
The team of about 60 members, consisting of officials and volunteers, gathered at a church in the area where they received a briefing, before splitting into six groups.
Residents were encouraged to speak out against any form of abuse they have experienced or witnessed in their community. Survivors were advised on how and where to find the right help.
Annah Mabunda, from the Bertha Gxowa Hospital and Ekurhuleni Clinical Forensic Medical Services, said they found it necessary to hold such a campaign as it was discovered that many victims in the informal settlement and across the country choose to just keep quiet about abuse.
“The extent of violence in the country is so serious that some women seen at the facilities come with life-threatening injuries.
“Children are also exposed to violence as secondary victims within households, and this indirectly teaches them that violence is the way to live.
“Exposure to violence might lead children to be abusers in the future, with others already displaying behavioural problems at school level because of the violence they witness at home,” said Mabunda.
Mabunda said they are hoping that their campaign would empower and encourage both men and women to take action to end gender-based violence in the informal settlement.
During the team’s interaction with the community, it was discovered that some women are often silent about the crimes of sexual violence committed against them.
It was also discovered that many families are living in extreme poverty and some social grant beneficiaries are struggling to access their money, while other children were unable to get identity documents.
Thousands of pamphlets and condoms were distributed during the campaign, and health workers were also at hand to offer counselling and testing for blood pressure, HIV and blood sugar. @MthuphaFanie
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