South Africa: The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, in collaboration with GCIS, this afternoon held a women’s empowerment seminar at Kuyga Community Hall, where various community stakeholders were invited to speak about the services they provide.
Speaking at the seminar, Sergeant Van Berg from the South African Police Services, amongst other things, gave a brief explanation of gender-based violence.
He said that the goal is to empower women to speak up freely against gender-based violence.
He talked about the steps to take and how SAPS can help a victim of domestic violence go from being a victim to a survivor.
He stated that 218 cases of crimes against women were reported at the Kabega Park precinct between 2020 and 2021, which is shocking but also demonstrates that 218 women have had enough.
In South Africa, statistics show that 1 in every five women has experienced some form of domestic abuse.
Sergeant Van Berg concluded by sharing that SAPS residents can utilise the “MySAPS” app to report crimes anonymously.
The Department of Social Development shared information on the kinds of social grants they offer. They spoke about the “pop-up” grant.
The grant is made for youngsters who live alone and have deceased parents. To get this grant, you need to show proof that both of your parents have died, like a death certificate.
The Department of Home Affairs was on site, offering its services to the residents in the area.
One of the community members, Bella Foley, expressed that she was overjoyed about the information she received from the stakeholders. She said that before this seminar, she was not even aware that the department of agriculture also distributed sewing machines to people for free.