POWA continues to fight back for the victims of abuse
SANDTON – “Perpetrators often isolate gender-based violence survivors so they are less likely to tell others about the abuse they are going through.”
People Opposing Women Abuse (Powa) kick-started the new month with the handover of sashes to the Miss Regal International and to the Miss Regal International Teen SA finalists.
Both the organisation and the pageant began their partnership in 2016.
Prominent figures such as top-three finalist from Idols SA 2017, Botlhale Phora, and director of the Miss Regal International Pageant, Vee van Heerden, both attended the event in Sandton on August 1.
Jeanette Sera, Powa’s counselling service manager, encouraged the contestants of the pageant and the participants of the event to break the silence of any form of domestic abuse. Sera said, “Perpetrators often isolate gender-based violence survivors so they are less likely to tell others about the abuse they are going through.”
Besides the partnership with the pageant, Powa has also teamed up with the Unilever tea brand, Joko, in a campaign to assist and support the victims of abuse and gender-based violence. The campaign known as #EndDomesticSilence started in 2019.
Thandiwe McCloy, the communication manager of Powa said, “There are three programmes that form part of the #EndDomesticSilence initiative, which are sector strengthening, which involves training non-governmental organisations, corporate entities and public sectors across South Africa on numerous aspects of domestic violence; The Women’s Writing Project which involves an anthology of essays, stories and poems written by women about their experiences of abuse and how they have triumphed over it; and lastly the Healing Days, which involves domestic violence survivors coming together to discuss and support each other.”
Powa plans on hosting a second event later on in the month where the organisation will launch a legal department which will focus on the legal support of any abuse-related cases against women.
The organisation hopes to continue to create a safe and healthy platform for the women in South Africa who are dealing with abuse and violence by making more people aware of the matter.
