Religious and traditional leaders play a crucial role in strengthening the prevention of and response to gender-based violence, as such Sonke Gender Justice and the Bushbuckridge Civil Society Forum urge these fraternities to play an active role in curbing this scourge, while holding fellow leaders accountable.
This comes after a Pastor was recently arrested in Mpumalanga province, on alleged three counts of rape of young girls and a possession of an illegal firearm. We note that this is not an isolated case involving a faith leader, and that there may be more unreported cases due to various reasons including the pressure often placed on survivors by members of these institutions.
The latest South African Police Service crime statistics report indicate an increase in rape rates by 0.6% over the past year. Of these, over three-hundred incidents are reported to have taken place in Mpumalanga. This alarming trend underscores the need for enhanced community safety measures.
Addressing GBV needs a multisectoral approach “government, civil society, corporate and the religious and traditional fraternity need to come on board to tackle this. There also needs to be a budget set aside for civil society to implement programs tailored to address GBVF specifically in Bushbuckridge. We have partnered with the Department of Social Development to engage young boys to become change agents of GBVF through activities such as the Boys Assembly dialogues, we think its important that the conversation is led from that perspective too. We are also working with the local municipality to engage religious leaders on GBV related matters” said Ernest Mando Nkanyana, Bushbuckridge Civil Society Forum Chairperson.
Sonke currently collaborates with the Bushbuckridge Civil Society Forum to strengthen the leadership abilities of religious and traditional leaders to address this scourge in churches and communities.
“Informed faith and traditional leaders can drive cultural change, challenge harmful norms and encourage inclusivity and compassion, these training workshops enable us to sensitize the leaders to understand the drivers of GBV and how to work collaboratively with other multisectoral stakeholders to better support survivors and overall prevention of violence”, said Bafana Khumalo, Sonke Gender Justice’s Co-Executive Director.
Communities need to remain vigilant in ensuring that those who commit any form of sexual and GBV are held accountable. This includes ensuring that the criminal justice system is held accountable to ensure that justice prevails.
Issued by Sonke Gender Justice.
For media enquiries contact
Kgomotso Mophulane, Communications & Strategic Information Manager, Sonke Gender Justice on kgomotso@genderjustice.org.za or 0835196187
Ernest Mando Nkanyana, Bushbuckridge Civil Society Forum Chairperson on mandonkanyana@gmail.com or 079 410 1853
Note to editors
Sonke is a South African-based non-profit organisation working throughout Africa. We believe women and men, girls and boys can work together to resist patriarchy, advocate for gender justice, and achieve gender transformation. For media releases, reports and news visit https://genderjustice.org.za/ and https://genderjustice.org.za/newsletter-signup/
The SANAC Civil Society Forum (CSF) is a formal advisory body established in 2012 by the South African National AIDS Council to facilitate the participation of Civil Society Organisations and networks, including those representing People Living with HIV, in the HIV and AIDS and TB within the National HIV response and for the implementations thereof National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2012-2016 through Sectors.
