Tears Foundation is still ready to help
SANDTON – NPO Tears Foundation is committed to helping victims of sexual abuse, rape and domestic violence.
Non-profit organisation, Tears Foundation is still a place for rape survivors and victims of sexual abuse.
Speaking to the founder and a survivor herself, Mara Glennie, they are committed to helping during the 21-day national lockdown in South Africa.
“We’ve made various plans. Three of us will be working from home, so anybody who needs urgent assistance, we will help them. We are linked to the Namola app (a free safety app in SA and it refers to rape and abuse calls straight to us.”
It is an app and will, therefore, need a smartphone. They have, however, made alternative arrangements for those without a smartphone.
“We are on standby to assist them so we are still going to be giving as close to our normal service as possible while working from home,” she said.
She mentioned that while he emphasis on the state of emergency, correctly, is on self-isolation, for some people, home is not a safe place to be.
“The prospect of large parts of the population being confined to prevent the spread of the coronavirus opens the potential for increased incidents of domestic violence. Of course, Covid-19 cannot cause domestic violence. But just as alcohol, drugs, unemployment, etc do not cause it there is a heightened state of anxiety and stress which is likely to make this a more dangerous time for women and children.”
She added that in line with existing research which highlights that natural disasters and diseases are factors in increased reports of domestic violence.
The Tears team will operate remotely while providing the following services:
- 24-hour access to support on our Help at your fingertips line *134*7355# which includes emergency assistance through Namola (www.namola.com)
- Critical incident trauma containment and debriefing
- Interventions will be accepted through any electronic means (Facebook, Messenger, Email, WhatsApp) as well as Telephonic Assistance.
All cases will be dealt with from the respective remote locations.
Related articles:
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/235330/tech-thursday-8-safety-apps-women-children/
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/242669/tears-launches-16-days-of-activism/
