Sonke works with many community radio stations across the country and, through these partnerships, is able to reach communities large and small all across the country in many languages to shape and inform public discussions about gender, HIV and AIDS and human rights. Sonke has provided community radio station staff in selected communities with training on gender and HIV and AIDS, and has developed a series of guidelines to form the basis of weekly radio shows so that they educate people about key gender, HIV and AIDS and human rights related developments. Our partnerships with community radio stations assist our community mobilisation efforts and give local Sonke community action teams a powerful platform to advance their advocacy and outreach efforts.
The radio shows run with the support and partnership of community based organisations (CBOs) located in the respective area of each radio station. These organisations help to reduce the work and time commitment from Sonke, making the shows highly sustainable.
Many of our partner stations are situated near Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs) throughout the country. The TCCs are one-stop facilities that have been introduced as a critical part of South Africa’s response to sexual violence and their aim is to reduce secondary trauma for rape victims, improve conviction rates and reduce the time it takes to finalise sexual assault cases. Sonke trains station hosts and content producers and provides radio stations with information-rich programming specifically tailored to decrease the stigma surrounding rape, gender-based violence and HIV and AIDS, and to create public awareness on these issues.
This is a five-year joint initiative between the Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication, the Medical Research Council, the Foundation for Professional Development, and Sonke Gender Justice.
