Today marks the first day of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) towards women and children. The campaign is held from the 25th of November to 10th of December every year. According to parliament, the campaign aims to raise awareness of the negative impact that violence and abuse have on women and children and to help society to get rid of abuse permanently.
The campaign was initiated by activists at the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991, triggered by the Montreal massacre in Canada, where on December 6, 1989, Marc Lépine entered the École Polytechnique engineering school and shot dead a group of female engineering students before shooting himself.
Women’s movements from across the globe saw this massacre as one of the most extreme forms of violence against women, thus initiating the 16 Days of Activism as a global campaign, not only to commemorate the victims of the Montreal massacre, but also to raise awareness, stimulate advocacy efforts and share knowledge and innovations for fighting violence against women and children South Africa launched its first 16 Days of Activism campaign in 1998, joining the international community in the fight against gender-based violence.
Victims of gender violence and domestic abuse often find themselves with no one or nowhere to turn to hence Amcare provides shelter for mothers and children who are victims of abuse. They stay for a period of three to six months depending on an individual’s needs, their stay may be extended up to a maximum period of 12 months and gives women an opportunity to find their feet.
They reach out to the victims through their victim-empowerment programme which renders psycho-social services. The centre is geared towards the protection of victims of gender-based violence and according to Nadine Mason, marketing and fundraising manager at Amcare, gender-based violence includes women, men and children. However, their shelter only makes provision for women and children.
The centre offers services the Victim Empowerment Programme (VEP) which serves an as important relief and safety providing a programme for women in hostile and abusive relationships. According to Lebo Tsotetsi, a Social Worker that works in the VEP at Amcare, the programme provides shelter for up to 20 women and children to provide them with safety from the abusive relationships that they find themselves in. Before accepting the women into the shelter, Social Workers are sent to their residence to make sure they meet the criteria for admission.
The residents who are part of VEP receive food and clothes whilst they are staying at the. They are provided with sessions with the social workers who explain to them the situation that they find themselves in and ways to get out and protect themselves. “We explain to them how a protection order works and encourage them to get one against the perpetrator if necessary,” said Tsotetsi. She highlights that women are taught about their rights as well as given the opportunity to learn and develop skills. These skills include catering, sewing and computer skills. Amcare also promotes independence and teaches the residents how to provide for themselves. Tsotetsi added that “When they leave the shelter, they will have the skills they need,”.
Martha, a previous resident at the shelter found herself in an abusive relationship that started in 2013. At the time she believed the abuse to be a temporary thing and that it will get better. In 2016, due to her partner and her being without a job, their baby girl was taken away from them by social workers that came to see them. When this happened, the social workers noticed bruises on Martha and asked her if there was abuse happening. At the time she denied it. Later that year social workers came to their residence again and noticed the same bruises. The social workers informed her about Amcare and she was accepted as a resident. “Amcare empowered me. They gave me an option,” said Martha. She moved out of the shelter and was eager to start her new life. Martha got the opportunity to work as a Shop assistant in Amcare’s charity store and said that she learnt a lot about running a shop.
