Ntabiseng Molele, Grade 10 learner has started a campaign called #IAmNotAVictim. She started this campaign following her own experiences with gender-based violence (GBV) as well as witnessing it in her community. Molele is a pupil at a local high school in Alexandra, where she said the teachers are overwhelmed by learners who get physically violent with them.
She highlighted that children in Alex are mostly left to their own devices and many start smoking and drinking. Molele pointed out that there are no recreational centres or places for children to spend their time in order to be stimulated and keep out of trouble.
Molele said gender-based violence is common in Alex and local police are of little to no help when incidents are reported. “Part of the reason that violence against women and children persists in Alex, is because perpetrators know they will not be brought to justice and can act with impunity,” said Molele.
Touched by Jabulile Nkosi case and feeling despondent about the GBV in her community she started the #IAmNotAVictim.The campaign is meant to enable survivors of any kind of violence to share their experiences in a safe environment, but most importantly for them to know that they are not to blame for the violent incidents they endured.
It is a facilitated conversation that is attended by a community social worker. Survivors are supported and encouraged to seek professional help to deal with their ordeals. In addition to the group sharing, they engage in activities like soccer, dance, drama and other expressions of talent as a way of working through their trauma.
Molele believes that the 16 Days of Activism campaign is the right time to spotlight gender-based violence issues, which is why she is organizing a community march called the Walk of Confidence on 6 December for women and girls in the neighbourhood to reclaim their power and not feel like victims in their own community.
She hopes to take the #IAmNotAVictim campaign further by reaching out to other communities where violence is rife to exchange experiences and ideas on how to mitigate against GBV.
