#16DaysofActivism2017: Report violence against women and children
"The 16 Days of Activism doesn't always make the abuser stop because abuse is a habit. Organisations do all they can do to raise awareness but people in general don't understand abuse especially if they are not in it." - Mariaan Howell, social worker for the Malvern Child and Youth Care Centre.
THE rights of women and children are fundamental human rights protected by South African national Constitution.
Gender-based and child violence, in all its different forms, devalues human dignity and the self-worth of the abused person and must be stopped and that is why 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children is an important period in society.
Also read: Activism campaign highlights violence against women and children
Mariaan Howell, social worker for the Malvern Child and Youth Care Centre with 15 years experience, said she finds that at this time of the year, there is a lot of abuse being reported and it may not necessarily be because of the 16 days of activism but just the nature of the holiday period.
“The 16 Days of Activism doesn’t always make the abuser stop because abuse is a habit. Organisations do all they can do to raise awareness but people in general don’t understand abuse especially if they are not in it,” she said.
Malvern Child and Youth Care Centre cares for vulnerable children who may have experienced some form of abuse in their lives.
“When the children come into the home, they hate the social workers because they may not understand why they had to be removed from their homes,” she said.
According to her, these children don’t have the opportunities that other children have the time to enjoy their parents.
“They can’t climb in their parents bed like my son does while I’m sleeping sometimes,” she mentioned.
Mariaan said they do their best to educate the children without stigmatising them, and they have education groups that deal with issues from abuse, HIV and sexual behaviour topics.
“We are surrounded by abuse, we all know of someone who has been a victim or who may be going through something now, we need to take notice and care for those around us,” she said.
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