16 Days commemorations an opportunity to reflect on what can be done

In my understanding the 16 Days of Activism Against GBV are an opportunity to unite with partners around the world and reflect on what we can each do in our communities and in our lives to eliminate the disproportionate violence faced by women and girls.

While pervasive, GBV is not inevitable and it can be prevented therefore it is our duty as the community to hold hands and stand against this violence. Stopping this violence starts with just believing the survivors, we should make it a point that whenever a woman vents out that they have been abused we should not judge them or accuse them but instead we should be kind to the victims and listen to them.

By Ntandoyenkosi Ncube

Another thing we can do as communities is to adopt comprehensive approaches that tackle the root cause, it is important that as communities, we identify the root causes of GBV such as drug abuse and combat them as a way of reducing the cases of GBV. Another thing we can do is transforming harmful social norms and empowering women and girls to speak up against any forms of GBV.

Lastly, as we wrap up the 16 days of activism against GBV it is important that we remember that we should not only advocate against GBV during these 16 days but we should fight violence against women on every other day, especially now that we are approaching the festive season where there are usually high crime rates mainly due to excessive drug and alcohol abuse and other factors. It is therefore important that we create safe environments for our women and girls remembering that the damaging effects of GBV are not only detrimental to the victims but it also affects the community they live in. The bitterness, hurt and anger that comes with being abused usually affects the way the victim interacts with their family and the community as a whole.

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