In the quiet Unity College in Chartwell, a meeting was hosted on ways in which members of the Domestic Worker’s Forum can identify dangerous situations, and how to handle it.
On 11 February, police officials and an expert in self-defence told attendees how to identify potential danger, including instances of gender-based violence, and whom to notify.
Sergeant Nicholus Mokwena of the Douglasdale Police Station headed the talk and explained what domestic violence is. Flyers on different forms of domestic abuse were handed out.
The first part included discussions on different ways in which abuse happens in relationships and workers were urged to take action should situations arise.
“The minute you identify there’s no peace, joy and happiness in this house, you must start to take action. There are a lot of remedies in place to deal with that situation,” Mokwena said.
Self-defence expert, Russell Jones spoke briefly on the different ways one can spot opportunities in which they could be robbed by someone in public. Linking the discussion of domestic abuse, he said the same method should be followed with personal safety. “You always need to detect if there’s a problem, and you need to decide on the action. You always need to do something. If I get to my car and a gun is pulled on me, I’m giving him the car, because then it’s too late to defend yourself,” he said.
“When walking on the street and you see someone suspicious, cross the street. Then see what they do. If they make a move towards you, there’s a problem. It’s about being awake,” Jones said.
He continued that getting help from someone from a house you might know will give the time you need to get help from the police.
Ingrid Kearney, organiser of the meeting, explained that the forum was formed more for domestic workers to work with police on reporting crimes in the areas they work in. “We have a WhatsApp group in which we share information on different things relating to crime on the group. No chit-chat happens. It’s to notify us of something happening right now,” Kearney said. The number of group members increases every day, with police officials also present on the group.
One member of the congregation asked if the police could look into writing a document which would allow for domestic workers to carry their employer’s house alarm remote with them after Mokwena said that ‘you need to have the panic button on your person at all times’.
The meetings with the forum take place every month, with guest speakers coming to offer attendees tips and training on how to deal with potential crime situations.
With the formation of the forum in 2008, the hope was that domestic workers do not feel victimised when reporting people or witnessed incidents to the Lonehill Residents Association (LRA) security.
ALSO READ: Kids learn about safety at Witkoppen Primary School
