Various organisations showed their support for the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign during a peaceful protest in the Durbanville CBD on Saturday November 26.
“Our main purpose was to launch our 16 Days campaign and to bring attention to the topic of gender based violence. The posters we made also highlighted the types of violence including physical, sexual, spiritual, emotional, financial and harassment,” said Danielle Cronje, a coordinator with the Durbanville Victim Empowerment Programme.
“In this time we are amplifying the voices of survivors and activists who support woman’s organisations, such as Olympians Social Development,“ she said.
About 50 representatives from the Durbanville police, the Durbanville Community Police Forum, the Victim Empowerment Programme, MercyAid and Resilient Kids SA took part in the protest.
Ms Cronje said the Durbanville Victim Empowerment Programme needed a new building as the current one was not safe. “We still need supporting services such as water and electric reticulation,” she said.
Efforts would be made in the new year to raise funds for a new building, she said.
Improvements to the Fisantekraal victim-support room meant volunteers could better support the community, dealing with “walk-in” clients and cases ranging from sexual assault to child abandonment (“Trauma rooms need maintenance, says victim support group,” Northern News, July 28).
“We are working to get the message out to the community there that there is support for the victims and to encourage the residents to ask the police for this service when they have experienced traumatic incidents or crimes.
“The volunteers also require training such as first aid, trauma training or crime-scene-awareness training. We also require assistance with our branding, for example, banners, table cloths and gazebo’ and T-shirts,“ Ms Cronje said.
Contact Danielle Cronje at vep247365@gmail.com for more information.