“No means no, don’t touch me here, and do touch there,” is one of the slogans Women Against Women and Child Abuse (WAWA) used when they marked Child Protection Week at the many crèches and schools they visited in Randfontein. From Tuesday 4 June to Friday 7 June they taught the children about various forms of abuse.
“We as WAWA believe that Child Protection Week should be observed every day and not just for a week. We do not want any children to suffer because they are being abuse,” Francina Julius of WAWA said.
She added that to mark Child Protection Week, the agency visited various crèches and schools to educate the children about their rights and how they can ward off any abuse they might fall victim to.
“Most importantly, we also tell them that if they are being abused, they should report it to us,” Francina said.
In many of the primary schools bullying is a problem. “We have come up with a slogan where we say ‘beat the bully’, where we teach the children to interact with the bullies in such a way that they can end up changing their behaviour,” Francina added.
WAWA also aims to eradicate abusive behaviour within families as it often becomes evident in the behaviour of the learners at school.