DURBAN - The KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala is expected to launch the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children in the province at Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre (Durban ICC) on Wednesday.
The campaign themed The Year of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke –16 Days of Activism – moving from awareness to accountability is the government’s effort to fight and ultimately conquer the scourge of violence aimed at women and children.
Zikalala will be launching the provincial government’s campaign and engaging with people that are directly affected by gender-based violence (GBV).
During the 16 Days period, the government, together with civil society and the private sector, will host a series of community and sector dialogues with widows, orphans, the LGBTQ+ community and the families of victims to foster a collaborative effort in dealing with GBV.
The campaign will also focus on traditional leaders, rural women, senior citizens, traditional healers and sex workers to encourage them to speak out against GBV and femicide.
South Africa first launched its campaign in 1998 to participate in a global campaign, and since then, the 16 Days campaign takes place from November 25 to December 10 (International Human Rights Day) every year in the country.
In 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his national address, implemented the Emergency Response Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide.
The campaign forms the centre point of the government’s comprehensive “365 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children”.
This was first initiated by activists at the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991, following the Montreal massacre in Canada, where Marc Lépine shot dead a group of engineering students before turning the gun to himself in 1989.
Women’s movements globally saw this massacre as the most extreme form of violence against women.
In this way, a global campaign was launched to not only commemorate the victims but also to raise awareness, stimulate advocacy and share knowledge and innovation to combat violence against women and children. - Additional reporting by Sophia Williams De Bruyn
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