Gender based violence as a pandemic.

Home-based Care Foundation is a Non-Governmental Organisation that was established to help people who are victims of Gender based violence. The foundation was established in 2020 in a rural community called Bundu Inn ( Kwandebele) in Mpumalanga. When this organisation was formed it was because of the high rate numbers of about 120 000 cases reported to the government GBV and femicide Centre alone, we have also seen the increased of 65% from Vodacom call Centre from individuals asking for help, people were being abused especially the time we were all under the strict lockdown of Corona-virus where people were forced to stay at home, for other it was a difficult time because they were forced to be in their homes with their abusers all the time, what this organisation is about to to help victims fight back when they are all alone with their perpetrators, what we offer is physical training were by all the genders are being trained on how to protect themselves in their respective homes or fight back when they are alone with their abusers, we also offer professional counselling to women and children who have experience gender based violence especially because these days the perpetrators are also our parents or family members, we have also seen that there are no shelters that the victims can go to when they want to run away from homes and we also offer shelters for such cases, we  have school programmes where we take a day to go and teach learners about what Gender based violence is and how important is it for one to report when they are being violated.

South Africa is known for its high rate level of Gender based violence, this pandemic affect everyone but most gender that is crying for help are women, now the misinformation that we get from the society when a woman is violated is that of how they dress, you will find the society saying "she got raped because she was wearing a short skirt or because she was showing of her body" meaning that she asked for it but if that was the case then why do we have cases where you find that a 5 years old was raped and killed, Wits gender expert Dr Ruth Murambadoro said places of worship were also risky for women.

“When a woman is violated by a religious leader, she will be asked, ‘what were you wearing?’ and ‘did you lure the leader? He is a man of god and would not be inclined to do such things.’ These attitudes make it difficult to bring about the changes that are deeply needed,” she said.

Gender based violence can be physical, sexual, emotional and financial and can be perpetrated by intimate partners, acquaintances or a stranger.

The government is also failing us when it comes to Gender based violence because there's really nothing much they are doing until there's a hype about it on social media, take for instance cases of Uyinene Mrwetjana and the likes of Tshegofatso Pule,what really did the President do about this matter rather than the speech he released on the 25th of November 2020 ( The dialogue of Gender based violence and femicide).Everyday when women are in their homes or when they leave their homes they fear for their lives, is this how we are suppose to be living as women?, is this the freedom that our great great father fought for?, for us to always live in fear because of men who don't appreciate and value women.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in 3 women is being abused, it also indicates that women are being mistreated are 17% more likely to give birth because they are being emotionally and physically abused.

Another misinformation that we need to start talking about and dealing with is the fact that not only Gender based violence victims are women, we also have men who are afraid to come out and speak because they are being laughed at when they report that their wives or sisters are abusing them, we need to voice out and assist men they is it okay to also be a victim and speak out about it so the perpetrators will be dealt with, but we cant be doing this when the society still portrait them as weak when they report us matter, this should start with us by standing together and fighting this pandemic without favoring any type of gender. Gender based violence is there and for the victims to be free to speak out and report being violated this should be made a norm as much as they talk about all the other things that are happening in this country it should also get the same attention as the other political issues we are faced with everyday, not having to wait when someone is being killed then hashtags are being created and that's when we start addressing the issue.

The home based care organisation is about doing all of this, putting every gender who is facing this pandemic first and making sure that they know that we are there and we care, we are also willing to help.

''when working together, great things happen"

Sources

1. https://vodacomfoundationsa.co.za/geder-based-violence/#:~:text=The%20call%20centre%20operates%20through,dialling%20*120*7867#

2. https://www.who.int/health-topics/violence-against-women