#DonateYourVoice campaign encourages breaking the silence on GBV

Source: supplied

This forms part of the purpose-driven tea brand’s End Domestic Silence drive that encourages the nation to break its silence about GBV and focus on the appalling state of domestic abuse in South Africa.

16 Days of Activism

Coinciding with 16 Days of Activism, an annual global UN campaign to end violence towards women and girls, #DonateyourVoice has been running from 25 November and ends 10 December 2021.

During this time celebrity-voiced stories have been broadcast through TV, radio, social media and digital.

News presenters as well as radio DJs on Metro FM and Radio 2000 and poet, Lebo Mashile, have been reading survivors’ stories, with Mashile’s ads airing on South Africa’s news TV channel, eNCA.

Also voicing survivors’ stories are South African actress, Brumilda van Rensburg, and, successful businesswoman, Lynette Ntuli.

The public can support the campaign by visiting the Joko website where they can record themselves telling a survivor story.

Overshadowed by statistics

Joko’s campaign was developed in partnership with South African NGO and women’s’ rights advocates, People Opposing Woman Abuse (Powa).

It is based on the insight that all too often, the real-life human stories of abuse are overshadowed by the horrific statistics.

The campaign is running to ensure these stories are heard and comes after an increase in GBV during the Covid pandemic as women have been confined indoors with abusive family members and partner.

Geoff Paton, chief creative officer of The Hardy Boys, Wunderman Thompson’s South African partner agency, says it is a huge privilege for them to be part of this campaign on behalf of Joko and Powa.

“We’ve been humbled and inspired by the strength of survivors in telling their stories. We hope that they will make a difference in bringing more awareness to such an important issue, while helping other victims of domestic violence to know there is hope and help at hand,” says Paton.

Survivor poem

At the end of the current campaign, The Hardy Boys plans to create a compilation of voices collected during the campaign mashed together to read a survivor poem. There is also a plan to create an exhibition of survivors’ portraits.

Since being appointed lead agency for Joko tea in 2019, The Hardy Boys agency has helped the tea brand in its social mission to harness the power of conversations to help reduce domestic violence.

Joko provides strong-flavoured, high-quality tea. Conversations started over a cup of Joko can inspire women to find their voice of strength and speak up and speak out against domestic abuse.