16 Days Of Activism 2018
WHAT IS THE 16 DAYS ACTIVISM?
It is a WORLDWIDE Campaign to OPPOSE VIOLENCE against WOMEN and CHILDREN
It aims to raise awareness of the NEGATIVE impact that VIOLENCE and ABUSE have on WOMEN and CHILDREN and to RID society of ABUSE PERMANENTLY
The success of this campaign rests on our daily individual and collective actions to safeguard our society against the cycle of abuse
WHEN DOES THE CAMPAIGN TAKE PLACE?
The 16 Days of Activism Campaign is held from 25 November to 10 December every year
The theme of the 2018 Campaign is “End Gender-Based Violence in the World of Work.”
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CAUSES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN?
It happens when people abuse POWER and positions of authority in order to CONTROL women and children.
WHAT IS ABUSE?
Any form of behaviour that causes:
fear
bodily harm
a person to do things against their will
EXAMPLES OF ABUSE:
Physical, verbal or sexual abuse
Economic abuse
Abuse of power
Controlling your movements
Threats with weapons
Stalking you
Forced entry
Saying the abuse is your fault
Abusing your children
Damaging your property
DON'T BE A VICTIM!
BREAK THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE
BREAK THE SILENCE
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
ACT AGAINST ABUSE
DO NOT LOOK AWAY!
KEY DATES TO OBSERVE IN THIS PERIOD:
25 November: International Day of No Violence Against Women
29 November: International Women Human Rights Defenders Day
1 December: World Aids Day
3 December: International Day for the Disabled
10 December: International Human Rights Day
https://www.parliament.gov.za/project-event-details/3
THE CRIME AGAINST WOMEN IN SOUTH AFRICA
The Crime Against Women in South Africa report blows the lid on the shocking state of violence perpetuated against women, revealing that cases of femicide – the murder of an intimate partner – dramatically spiked by 117% since 2015.
This is in stark contrast to general murder rates in the country which have been declining.
Twice as many women in SA were victims of sexual abuse (250 in every 100 000 women) compared to men and the country’s rape rate is considered to be among one of the highest in the world.
“Using the 2016-17 South African Police Service statistics, in which 80% of the reported sexual offences were rape, together with Stats SA’s estimate that 68,5% of the sexual offences victims were women, we obtain a crude estimate of the number of women raped per 100 000 as 138,” the report notes.
“This figure is among the highest in the world. For this reason, some have labelled South Africa as the ‘rape capital of the world’.”
The report also revealed that the number of women experiencing sexual offences has shot up by 53% between 2015 and 2017, with the number of cases jumping from 31 665 in 2015 to 70 813 last year.
Perhaps the most shocking revelation to come out of the report is that fact that one in every 40 South African women believe that – under certain circumstances – it is totally justifiable for a man to hit a woman.
The number of women agreeing with this sentiment almost equalling the number of men who hold the same belief, with 3,3% of men and 2,3% of women agreeing that it’s acceptable to hit a woman over something as trivial as burnt food.
TAKE LEGAL STEPS TO STOP DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The law is on your side and you need to take steps against domestic violence by:
Approaching your local police station and reporting it. Some forms of domestic violence may result in more serious criminal charges like assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Applying for a protection order at the nearest Magistrate’s Court. The clerks of the court will assist you in making this application.
The court will issue a protection order, which will be delivered by the police to the person who has committed any act of domestic violence. The protection order, among other things, provides protection by ordering person not to:
Commit an act of domestic violence
Enlisting the help of another to commit any such act
Entering residence shared by the complainant and the respondent
Entering a specified part of such shared residence
Entering complainant’s place of employment.
Report domestic violence before it is too late. It is important to mention that if the abuse is happening to anyone you know, you may take the steps as outlined above.
For more information or Confidential Professional Counselling contact PROCARE www.procare.co.za
0861 776227