Cape Town - With Delft considered to have the highest number of sexual offences areas in the Western Cape, the Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture plans on changing attitudes toward gender-based violence (GBV) through a drama production titled Behind the Walls.
Produced and written by the Trauma Centre staff and Delft youth, the story is based on the realities that people experience on the ground.
The production aims to depict how violence ruins families behind the walls of their homes, and gives an opportunity to portray a society that has moved toward social cohesiveness to eradicate GBV.
The Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture’s executive director, Marguerite Holtzhausen, said that since the start of the pandemic, the centre has been consistently delivering face-to-face counselling to thousands of vulnerable adults and children, hence the play aims to portray their story and change attitudes toward GBV and the wrong use of power.
“With the current backlog of forensic evidence at the police laboratory only be cleared by January 2023, this proves to be a major challenge in communities as this leads to many perpetrators of sexual violence not being prosecuted, and justice not being served for survivors.”
“That’s why we started by training 43 community activists in Delft, so that they can conduct dialogues on gender and power in their circle of influence in order to change attitudes in their communities. The production also aims to fulfil the Trauma Centre’s vision as the lesson from the drama will portray a non-violence society with respect for human rights and social cohesion,” said Holtzhausen.
Western Cape Commissioner for Children Christina Nomdo said that given the current rate of GBV in the country, it is time to call out social norms that underpin patriarchy and the toxic masculinities that emanate from that.
“South Africa has had many special days to raise awareness on GBV, and that leads me to ask myself, who in this country, does not know about gender-based violence? Or why can’t we just live consciously of our realities - be ‘woke’ as the youth would say!”
“Surely we must move beyond awareness to more substantive initiatives? It’s time we call out social norms that underpin patriarchy and the toxic masculinities that emanate from that. This goes right to the heart of the issue.
“Children and women bear the brunt of the violence in our society. They are co-victims of violence in domestic abuse. Children told the commissioner that their homes are one of the most dangerous places they must navigate and survive. We must challenge hierarchies of power in our society that lead to inequality and abuse of power,” said Nomdo.
The Trauma Centre will present the professional youth drama production on Thursday, December 9 at Delft Civic Hall, where the youth will also be addressed by Nomdo.
Through the production, members of the Department of Social Development, SAPS, and the community volunteer will also be given an opportunity engage in dialogues in order to collaborate and inspire further action to deliver progress on the Gender-Based Violence Action Coalition Blueprint.
To attend the youth drama production showcase, RSVP on [email protected] or contact 021 465 7373 for more information.
Weekend Argus