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Free State: Thusanang Advice Centre partnered with DSD Thabo Mofutsanyana District (GBV programme) and various stakeholders, including the South African Police Services, the Department of Health, the Legal Aid Board, the Department of Correctional Services, the National Prosecuting Authority and Local Community Based Organization to commemorate 16 days of activism campaign at Qwa Qwa Cultural House.
The aim of the engagement was to raise awareness of the negative impact that violence and abuse have on women and children and also to free society of abuse permanently.
Mphuthi’s social manager relayed the story of a young girl who was going through depression after being abused sexually by his father; the agony became severe when her mother refused to trust her. The moral of the story is that listening to children builds up self-esteem and develops communication skills; ultimately, the child becomes more confident and independent. Consequently, she emphasized childhood trauma.
She further explained the social worker’s role when dealing with people who are suffering from emotional distress.
Pulane Sejane from the Department of Health urged the house to report sexual abuse cases within 72 hours so that valuable and sufficient evidence can be collected flawlessly.
Moabi from Lifeline said most people are living under abuse purely because they are not aware that they are being abused. “Our Rights are being violated all the time. We need to know what is abuse in order for us to take charge of our lives.”
When summing up the day, pastor Sibeko alluded to his concerns about how people have chosen to live their lives mercilessly. People have lost their identity; hence, there’s a lot of GBV. Women can be destructive. Their words are too abusive to a level where men are losing their worth. We must not let our experiences break us but strive for more liberty and become wiser. Live your life that must have a purpose, and don’t be dependent on your partner”.
Those were his remarks.