Cape Town - Ilitha Labantu, in collaboration with police and civil society organisations, hosted the “Uthuleleni” motorcade against gender-based violence in Grabouw on Monday, to break the silence on violence perpetrated against women and children.
Grabouw ward councillor Ntombi Mentile said victims were not reporting cases as they had lost their trust in the police, while civil society organisations were not doing enough to help them.
"The communities are not informed about GBV, or do not know where to report it because they have lost trust in the police," Mentile said.
Ilitha Labantu spokesperson Siyabulela Monakali said through their messaging they were trying to break the silence on abuse.
"There is a huge stigma around the issue of GBV in some households and communities.
"People always feel like it’s an issue that needs to be dealt with at home, and unfortunately when that culture is prevalent in communities it becomes a breeding ground for violence," Monakali said.
"In our efforts, we are trying to break the silence and we want people to start utilising the services that are available in the communities.”
Monakali said there was a need to have ongoing engagements to fight GBV. He said there was also a need to formulate more sustainable partnerships and he encouraged other civil society organisations to go out in communities.
“All stakeholders, be it government or civil society organisations, should apply a 365-day strategy on how they are going to address this (scourge).
"There is a need for civil society organisations to work in partnerships to alleviate the scourge, because it is an issue where, if we work together, we can target more people, and having strategic partnerships and sustainable mechanisms in place can win this fight,” he said.
Cape Argus