YCLSA calls for ‘365 days of activism’ against gender violence and violence against children
26 November 2015
The Young Communist League of South Africa [uFasimba] welcomes the beginning of the 2015 ‘16 days of activism’ against gender violence and violence directed at children which started yesterday and ends on December 10.
As the YCLSA we are of the view that 16 days is not enough to decisively and completely eradicate the scourge of gender violence and violence against children. We call for the campaign to be changed from the `16 days of activism` to the `365 days of activism`. The fight against violence that is directed against women and children should be fought all year long and cannot only be intensified once a year for only 16 days.
Sexual molestation, domestic violence, sexual harassment, torture and rape are social challenges that we are facing in our daily lives. We urge our comrades and all our people to embrace this initiative by government to end violence against women and children. South Africa has one of the highest rates of rape in the world and this includes 'corrective rape' which used to 'cure' lesbian women of their homosexuality.
As the YCLSA we note that our constitution has throughout the years not been successful in eliminating hate crimes that are perpetuated on the basis of sexual orientation and that they are still not recognised by South African law. Little support is given to survivors of these heinous crimes of corrective rape.
We are encouraging all silent female victims to talk about abuse and ensure that they get help, report child abuse to the police, and encourage children to report bully behaviour to school authorities. We also encourage both men and boys to talk about abuse and actively discourage abusive behaviour.
We appeal to families to be cautious and look out for any signs of abuse. Safety of children has to begin in the family nucleus because children are often abused by family and community members
Issued by Khaya Xaba, Natoinal Spokesperson, YCLSA, 26 November 2015
