Over one hundred KwaDukuza residents gathered in Ntshawini on Thursday to celebrate Human Rights Day by embarking on a peaceful march and time of prayer.
The march was a show of solidarity against violence towards the elderly, women and children.
MEC of Corporate Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, spoke about the importance of protecting the most vulnerable members of society.
“In this area (Ntshawini) we have heard about many gruesome incidents of women being abused and killed, even by those closest to them,” said Dube-Ncube.
She urged family members and neighbours to help victims of abuse to find the necessary courage to report it.
She also made the call to abusers themselves to stand up and speak out, to seek help and get counselling.
Dube-Ncube acknowledged that there was a lot of shame and stigma attached to abuse, especially when it occured within domestic settings.
However she said it was everyone’s responsibility to help lift those stigmas, so that people could talk openly and honestly and get help.
“By creating safer communities where crimes are reported in a timely and effective manner – with due law enforcement processes being allowed to take their course – we might see less desperate and angered residents, who often feel they have no other option but to take matters into their own hands.”
KwaDukuza municipality speaker Phumlile Zulu wanted days and events like this one to give hope to people, to remind them that they were not alone.
She said the focus going forward should be a reinvigorated “moral regeneration”.
“We’re not where we are supposed to be as a society, but we will get there,” said Zulu.
Her message was for people to respect and preserve everyone’s basic human rights.
“We have to think beyond ourselves and to look out for each other.
“It takes a collective effort to break the cycle of violence and bring justice to all those who are affected,” she said.
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