GRASSY PARK
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TUESDAY 1 December 2020 | Tel: 021 910 6500 | Email: post@peoplespost.co.za | Website:
Shaamiela Adams of the Klip Community Development Organisation.
www.peoplespost.co.za
@ThePeoplesPost
Participants at the Lake Road demonstration on Wednesday 25 November.
People’s Post
PHOTOS: SAMANTHA LEE-JACOBS
GRASSY PARK
United against GBV SAMANTHA LEE-JACOBS SAMANTHA.LEE@PEOPLESPOST.CO.ZA @SAMANTHA_LEE121
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lags will fly at half-mast at the Grassy Park police station for the duration of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign. Launched on Wednesday 25 November, the campaign will conclude on Thursday 10 December. To launch its campaign, the police station partnered with local organisations, the community policing forum, the ward councillor and volunteers to host a picket in each of its sectors on day one. Dressed in white, the participants were armed with posters and banners. At one of the demonstration points in Lake Road in Lotus River, Shaamiela Adams of the Klip Community Development Organisation
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also added makeup, bandages, bruises and fake blood to show passing cars what a victim of domestic violence can look like. “I believe in our communities gender-based violence (GBV) is an issue in households. We believe something must be done to stop this. We want to get the message across; that it’s not okay and not right to abuse women and children,” says Adams. “This is what we are faced with in our families and in our homes, at our schools and in our communities. I support initiatives like this.” Patricia van der Ross, councillor for ward 65, says this initiative should not only be observed during these 16 days. “This is a plague in this community. People are not speaking up and women are being blamed for being abused and allowing abuse. We need to start standing up as women and saying we are here for victims. “Make contact with us. We will help you
fight if need be,” she says. Van der Ross says enough is enough. “Around 80% of the time, women are the breadwinners in the ward I serve so they have to go out and work, come home late at night and cook and clean, then be beaten up. We are here to stand up and walk the walk with you,” she says. Long-serving volunteer at the Grassy Park Victim Support Unit, Charles Nicholas, agrees with Van der Ross that the campaign should be observed throughout the year. “Domestic violence is a big problem in our community. The cases we have had over the years have actually not improved,” he says. “We have been there for the past 21 years and we have seen effective action against abusers during this period.” He says it seems after the 16 days campaign, intensity dies down when it comes to tackling violence against women and children, but he says, because it is a year-long scourge, the
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same intensity should be maintained throughout the year. “It must not be for 16 days, it must be for 365. This is the problem we have as volunteers. This must be a partnership between the community and law enforcement,” he says, calling on support from police and locals. Col Dawood Laing, Grassy Park police station commander, says the station has taken strides in ensuring the scourge of GBV is tackled in the community. He says for the current calendar year to date, there has been a 100% arrest rate for sexual offences, including rape and indecent assault. For domestic violence charges, there is a 94% arrest rate. “We want to show the community that we are serious about putting an end to violence,” says Laing. V Continued on page 3.
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