Break the silence
As part of its community outreach programme, Edcon supports the Victim Friendly Room at the Johannesburg Central Police Station.
IT is time to break the silence and turn the world orange in support of 16 Days of Activism for no violence against women and children.
Edcon, in partnership with the UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office, Gauteng Provincial Departments of Social Development and Community Safety and the SA National Fashion Council, supported the International Day to End Violence Against Women with an Orange Day held at their Edcon headquarters in Edgardale on Wednesday, November 25.
Edcon continues to support initiatives aimed at empowering communities, especially women, with its partnership with the United Nations on the 2015 Orange Day Campaign. Each year, the United Nations secretary general’s campaign ‘UNiTE to End Violence Against Women’ invites people to turn the world orange in support of 16 Days of Activism for no violence against women and children.
This flagship initiative seeks to support the victims of violence through skills development in fashion design, which will result in opportunities for job creation, financial independence and enterprise development. This will ultimately give the beneficiaries tangible skills which will allow them to reclaim their dignity and lives. The women chosen for this programme will be coached and mentored by some of South Africa’s top designers to ensure that they produce garments that are up to the industry standards.
Elelwane Pahlana, group executive for transformation at Edcon said, “The vision is for the women to regain their selfworth, dignity and be able to be self-sufficient. We believe that through the gravitas brought by our partnership with the UN Women, the Gauteng Provincial Departments of Social Development and Community Safety and the SA National Fashion Council, we will be able to take a strong stand against the abuse of women and children.”
Dr Auxilia Ponga, representative for UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office, said of the campaign: “We are all confronted with issues of abuse every day. We need to talk about this and stand together against any form of abuse against women. Violence against women affects everyone.”
As part of its community outreach programme, Edcon supports the Victim Friendly Room at the Johannesburg Central Police Station.
“I applaud the good initiative by the Edcon group to empower women who are victims of abuse with skills and a platform for them to be able to be economically independent. This is in line with our strategy to transform the lives of victims of abuse and to ensure smooth transformation, modernisation and re-industrialisation,” said MEC for Community Safety, Sizakele Nkosi Malobane.
