Cape Town – The worldwide campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence will kick-off in Cape Town in Khayelitsha today, with residents joining NGOs in a march, in response to a pastor accused of raping three children.
Led by the Department of Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the march will also highlight the plight of women and children.
The campaign is held annually, from November 25 to December 10 to attract people to be active participants in the fight to eradicate violence against women and children, as well as expand accountability beyond the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster.
It was started by activists, at the inaugural Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991, and continues to be co-ordinated each year by the US Center for Women’s Global Leadership.
Khayelitsha march project co-
ordinator Mbuyiseli Boqwana said the demonstration would start at the Harare police station in Khayelitsha at 8.30am.
“The Khayelitsha police station recorded higher reports of sexual offences this year compared to last year. Statistics showed that 100 cases of rape were reported to the police every single day.
"We will take to the streets to condemn all forms of gender-based violence (GBV), and call on men to respect women’s inherent dignity. This action is also in response to a court case of a pastor, from the area, accused of raping children,” Boqwana said.
The pastor, Siyabulela Matini, 42, was arrested in September, after being accused of raping three girls, two of whom are siblings.
Boqwana said Matini was expected in court today.
“From the police station, we will move to Khayelitsha Thuthuzela Centre, then move to Khayelitsha Regional Court for Matini’s case.
"We will also get more stats on cases of GBV, before heading to Khayelitsha Training Centre for a dialogue,” said Boqwana.
Mayor Dan Plato announced on Saturday that R2million would be set aside to fund task teams to tackle GBV.
The Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children and Fair Cape Dairies will today launch their long-term partnership, to help raise awareness about GBV through the use of their six-pack charity product.
Fair Cape dairies rebranded their six-pack charity yoghurt, and 50c from each purchase of the yoghurt will be donated to the centre.
“The Saartjie Baartman Centre has an incredible record in the work they do for the women and children in the community, and we want to be part of that,” Fair Cape said.
Bernardine Barcha, director at the Saartjie Baartman Centre, said: “We partnered with Fair Cape Dairies because we have shared values with them.”