FAWU SUPPORTS 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM & CONDEMNS VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN

 

Media Statement - 25 November 2020

FAWU Supports 16 Days of Activism And Condemns Violence Against Women and Children

 

The Food and Allied Workers’ Union strongly condemns any form of gender based violence against women and children in South Africa. Sadly, these atrocious deeds have increased in our societies despite the loud public outcry over the last several years and the good work being done by several organisations across the country.

 

With the advent of 16 Days of Of No Violence Against Women and Children, we call on government and civil –society organisations to do even more to protect our women and children. Our communities are suffering because women and children have become the targets of deranged criminal minds’ instead of being protected and nurtured like they deserve to be.

 

It is no good to be living in a democratic society if our women and children cannot live and move freely in it. We simply cannot idly sit by and quietly watch how the vulnerable are being slaughtered often by those who they know as well as perpetrators who prey on those that cannot defend themselves.

 

In our work recruiting and servicing farm workers, we often see cases of gender-based violence play out amongst farming communities where women find themselves in an isolated area and as a result cannot access safe houses for victims of abuse. They are often too afraid to speak out as they fear further victimisation and the fear of being shamed by others. The patriarchal nature and the dependency of women on the male figure as the head of the household in farming communities adds to the marginalisation of victims of gender-based violence . FAWU calls on government to act decisively and to conduct specific GBV –awareness programmes specifically for women on farms, factories and rural communities so that they know there is help available should they be in need thereof. The union will also engage in awareness campaigns amongst our members.

 

We need to speak up for those who are unable to and we need to fight this scourge as a community who refuses to tolerate GBV and are willing to act against it. Gender –based violence is everywhere and it is our duty to call it out when we witness it. All too often in our communities, even in urban areas, we tend to look the other way instead of being the helping hand and the support structure that GBV victims need. Gender-based violence is a societal problem and unless we, as a whole,  address it as such , it is not going to go away.

 

For Help: Contact SAPS 10111 or Gender based violence Emergency Line 0800 428 428 or STOP Gender Violence Helpline 0800 150 15 or Send a “please call me” to *120* 7867# supported by a USSD.

Released by FAWU media officer, Dominique Martin- 082 498 5631