WATCH: Women of the South speak out against GBV
Women from the South attended the event which was an eye-opener as there were various speakers with their testimonies on GBV.
My Lillies of Hope in La Rochelle hosted a gender-based violence (GBV) event on November 5.
Women from the South attended the event which proved to be an eye-opener with various speakers sharing their testimonies on GBV.
Pastor Mthuthuzeli Kiviet welcomed the guests by saying men need the presence of God in order to be helped overcome their weaknesses.
“Men are abusing women because they don’t have God in their lives. They need to come back to their senses and for that to happen, they need God,” he said.
Guest speaker Tshidi Nchabeng, who was also abused by her partner, shared her journey.
She wrote a book, The journey of my life, where she detailed all the trauma she went through.
“In October 2010 I was shot twice by my cheating ex-boyfriend. He couldn’t handle rejection after I ended our relationship. “Today, I don’t know whether I was shot first in the head or abdomen. I survived a near-death incident that left me immobilised for months, and emotionally and psychologically broken. By the way, I still live with the bullet in my head today,” she said.
“I couldn’t write my name. I had dyslexia, I couldn’t see, speak or walk properly. Today, my left ear cannot hear properly, I live with a shower sound in it since I was shot. The doctors couldn’t take it out as it was going to cause major damage.
“God will always come through for you. I am thankful to Him. He is a miracle worker, hence I’m here today. He saved me for a purpose. I remember two years after the incident I ran a 10km race in Mpumalanga after I was told I will never walk again,” explained Tshidi.
She said her role is to encourage and empower wounded women and men, to tell them that God heals any pain and gives hope to GBV survivors.
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Social worker Angel Ngalo said GBV is a pandemic itself, like coronavirus. She said the information given at the event needs to be heard by everyone, even those who were not present.
“It is like we are in a state of emergency with this GBV. Our society is very unequal and there are lots of factors which contribute to GBV, like in how certain cultures we are told to be obedient, keep quiet and not talk back,” she said.
Angel also urges everyone that if they don’t want to report GBV as it happens, they must at least keep the evidence like photos or doctors’ report.
They can report it when they feel comfortable as when they have evidence, cases can be pursued.
Other speakers emphasised the importance of working together in order to fight GBV, such as Dimakatso Mandlazi from Sanca, Eddie Shongwe from Department of Health, Moffat View SAPS Sgt Desiree Nose and Capt Joseph Makhubela.
“We promise to take our colleagues for training so that when people come to us to report GBV, we can be better prepared to listen to them. At the station we don’t judge because we are there to serve with dignity and respect,” said Makhubela.
Every woman present at the event was given a goodie bag, which CEO of My Lillies of Hope Ronny Selowa said was a way to say ‘sorry for the pain men have caused to women’.
Chairperson of My Lillies of Hope, Relebogile Kiviet, thanked everyone who attended the event.
Thapelo Xhego was the MC of the day.
