Women are pushed to breaking point

Published Nov 28, 2021

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CAPE TOWN - As part o the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, the Cape Times The Cape Times has partnered with the Saartjie Baartman Centre in Athlone to provide a platform for women to tell their stories of bravery, courage, and resilience. In this edition we interviewed the centre’s director Bernadine Bachar.

Q: Briefly take us through some of the work/ initiatives that the centre does, the importance of this organisation in communities. How long has it been operating?

A: The Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children, the largest privately-run shelter in the country, was established in 1999 in response to the high rates of violence against women and children on the Cape Flats. We provide essential free services 365 days a year to abused women and children, employing a range of services for the treatment and prevention of violence against them. These include a 24-hour crisis response programme; a residential shelter programme and transitional housing; a psycho-social support programme, including a children’s counselling programme; a substance abuse programme; a child protection programme; an early childhood development centre; a legal assistance programme; and accredited job skills training programmes for our residents.

In 22 years, we have assisted more than 230 000 women and children survivors of gender-based violence (GBV).

Q: What is your assessment of how the country is dealing with abused women and children?

A: Little has changed on the ground for survivors, notwithstanding the ongoing public awareness-raising occasioned by initiatives such as 16 Days of Activism. We as a country need to move from talking about GBV to action against it by all. A “whole of society” approach is necessary. Accountability on the part of government departments to ensure that our response to GBV speaks to the needs of survivors and their children is critical if we are going to begin to eradicate it.

Q: Talk us through some of the severe cases that the centre has attended to during this year?

A: Most women who approach the centre for assistance have just fled a violent situation, often with only the clothing on their backs. Women reach us when they have exhausted all other options. Abuse isolates, degrades, dehumanises and obliterates. Again and again, we hear stories of women pushed to breaking point, feeling marginalised, and that they are without a voice or any sense of agency. The children that accompany them are mostly traumatised themselves.

Q: South Africa is labelled the most dangerous place for women in the world. What has contributed to this? What has worked and what hasn't? Is there a will politically and in government to put measures in place to eradicate GBV in our country?

A: Traditional drivers of GBV are rife in South Africa. Our society is characterised by poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, substance abuse and has a large gender gap. The harmful and destructive patriarchal beliefs that underpin GBV are still dominant. More work needs to be done by the government to ensure that their responses to are co-ordinated across all government departments and speak directly to the needs of survivors. Community involvement in GBV prevention and response strategies is crucial, and community-based organisations assisting survivors require funding and support from the government.

Government departments also need to draw a line in the sand when it comes to GBV and lead from the front. The practice of placing officials in government positions, be they national, provincial or local, who have been convicted of crimes relating to GBV is reprehensible and must stop.

Q: What do you think needs to be the approach in tackling this issue? Do organisations like yourselves get enough government and community support. Also, have the funds raised by the government to fight GBV translated to tangible change?

A: Shelters are inadequately funded by the government. Our annual budget deficit, after government funding, at the Saartjie Baartman Centre is approximately R6 million. Raising that sum, particularly in the current economic climate, is a herculean task. Keeping the centre running optimally during the pandemic has been challenging, especially after the devastating fire in our residence wing in May 2020.

Q: When we talk about the justice system, do survivors of violence feel confident in the police, NPA and the courts? There is also an issue of offenders being released without their victims being informed. How does this affect the work that the centre does?

A: Many survivors have lost confidence in the criminal justice system in its entirety, they are often let down by those tasked to protect them. During the hard lockdown, numerous survivors told of being unable to obtain protection orders because they could not access Domestic Violence Courts, or of trying to enlist police assistance and being told that there was “no police van available”. Our systems continue to fail survivors.

Q: Lastly, talk to us about empowering women. Part of the problem is that a huge number of victims and survivors are trapped in abusive relationships because their abuser is the one providing for the family. Is this the area where more focus should be given?

A: The economic empowerment of survivors is a critical step. A survivor without a hope of entry into the job market is more likely to stay in an abusive relationship as often the perpetrator holds the purse strings. Transitional housing for survivors post-shelter is critical to their empowerment, and unfortunately, mostly unavailable. When women exit shelters they don’t have access to affordable and accessible housing, which often prevents them from moving away from their abuser.

Cape Times

Related Topics:

Gender-Based Violence