KOUGA Municipality has lined up a number of programmes to mark this year’s 16 Days of Activism campaign for No Violence Against Women and Children.
The campaign was launched yesterday by Executive Mayor Horatio Hendricks at the Dan Sandi Hall in Patensie where a Men’s Dialogue took place.
The 16 Days of Activism campaign is an annual, worldwide campaign, that opposes violence against women and children.
The campaign takes place between November 25 and December 10. Its aims are to raise awareness of the negative impact that the abuse has on women and children and to find ways to rid society of abuse.
This year’s theme is: #Hear me too: A woman of fortitude. The national programme was launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday in Melmonth in the Mthonjeni Local Municipality, KwaZulu Natal Province.
Hendricks said the municipality was working with different government departments, non-governmental organisations and other community structures in the campaign to raise awareness about gender¬-based violence, its impact on society and ways of combating the scourge. “We also want to deal with the myths around hypermasculinity that feed the notion that women can be treated as objects.”
“The stigmatisation of victims of abuse is still of great concern and we would like everyone to join the chorus and speak out against this form of abuse,” he said.
Dialogues on gender-based violence and HIV and Aids will be held this week. The first dialogues took place at Ramaphosa Village, Patensie, on Tuesday and at Donkerhoek, Humansdorp.
The sessions will then move to Vaaldam and the Golf Course informal settlement on Thursday and Friday respectively.
World Aids Day will be commemorated on December 6 in Humansdorp and this will be preceded by an activation campaign, the day before, in the town.
As part of the activities, the Disability and Senior Citizens’ Day will be held next week, Tuesday, in Jeffreys Bay and will take the form of an information session about the municipality’s Disability Policy and celebrating the elderly.
To get involved in the 16 Days programme and to get more information, contact Vuyani Zana at 081 486 6717 or email vzana@kouga.gov.za.
