Activists from various districts of KwaZulu-Natal prepare for their roles in raising awareness and supporting survivors of gender-based violence.
Image: Supplied
PREMIER Thamsanqa Ntuli welcomed 211 activists in KwaZulu-Natal to combat gender-based violence and femicide, at the Westville Correctional Facility in Durban this week.
Ntuli said activists are a crucial part of the government’s intervention to combat GBVF’s ongoing scourge. The activists, recruited from all districts, will undergo intensive training and are tasked with restoring hope, raising awareness, fighting for stronger laws and justice for survivors, and demanding accountability from authorities.
He said the activists are also tasked with reporting cases that reach police stations.
“A system will be created for depositing information. This means we will be able to monitor whether the situation is decreasing or increasing daily, and also see which areas are hotspots. We can then quickly move closer to assist them,” Ntuli said.
“However, we emphasise that they should not only be the people at the police stations receiving statements or interviewing victims of abuse. They must focus significantly on mobilising the community, so we can prevent and fight for prevention rather than only caring for victims after the fact.
“We emphasise that they should be seen leading marches or participating in marches, to highlight that, as the KZN government, we stand against this brutality of gender-based violence and femicide.”
Ntuli said the activists will assist by informing people, ensuring action, and urging all community leaders to join the fight against GBVF, as GBV affects the entire community, not just certain groups.
“As the province of KwaZulu-Natal, we aim to make the fight against gender-based violence and femicide practical by having people who are employed by government, who are given an extended role so that they won’t just stay in police stations, but their assessment will be based on the community mobilisation and community awareness programmes they conduct,” Ntuli said.
He explained that these activists focus on GBVF. Since it was declared a national disaster, it means it requires a dedicated programme, a dedicated plan that will truly ensure the statistics go down. Especially strengthening efforts in those areas that appear to be the ones with the most severe problems.
GBVF activist based at Phoenix Police Station, Niven Naidoo, said they have been empowered to go into communities to create more awareness, tackle GBV and combat bullying within schools.
“The Phoenix community is plagued by substance addiction and violence amongst their peers and families, and this creates an unsafe environment as a whole to combat certain things,” Naidoo said.
“We actively go out there and try to change mindsets, cultures, and beliefs so that things that were once traditionally accepted are now not so much so, and we can redirect resources and attention to these types of issues.”
He said the government is helping by setting aside funds and creating more programmes for GBVF, but they always need more.
“We know the government has made GBV a priority crime, and we are waiting to see how that really affects the situation on the ground, and we are looking forward to it,” Naidoo said.
Another activist, Mlungisi Ngwane, said they also go out to the community for campaigns, have dialogues, and meet stakeholders.
Ngwane noted that the Phoenix Network Forum facilitates access to GBV cases by connecting them with departments and organisations. They also raise awareness through church visits and community meetings discussing GBV, bullying, and substance abuse.
“The biggest challenge we find is drugs. Drugs are everywhere, especially near schools, and we go with the police, but we sometimes find that they are not intervening as they should, because we find that even in schools, when we search the children, we find drugs on the children, and when we ask the children, they say that the drugs are sold outside the school. When we find these places, we find that they say they are registered. Maybe the Premier can intervene there because you will not be able to fight GBV while there are still drugs,” Ngwane said.