Black Campaign combats violence against women

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To date more than 2,700 youths in 15 high schools have participated in this initiative. "We need to encourage and empower the youth to have a voice and stand up against violence. 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children is a great platform to highlight and challenge communities to stand up against violence. We must stand together and let the perpetrators know that violent behaviours will not be tolerated in our society," says Lifeline director, Sinikiwe Biyela.

"Lifeline has taken active steps in ensuring that this violence against women is addressed. We need to support organisations that want to make a difference and provide hope to communities," says Pearl Mphuthi, FNB Fund Manager.

Guidelines to follow

Sinikiwe has the following tips and guidelines that people could use when subjected to acts of violence:

• Get to a safe place and find someone you can trust. It's very important that you write down the name and contact details of this person. This is the person that may be called to court to give evidence on your behalf.
  
• Try not to clean yourself, or throw away your clothes that you were wearing as these contain evidence needed if you wish to open a case with the police. Wrap them in a brown bag or newspaper, not in plastic as this will destroy the evidence.
  
• Do not take any alcohol or drugs after the rape to try and calm down as it may impact on the medical care that you may need to receive as well as the fact that you need to be able to give a clear statement to the police about what happened.
  
• It is very important to seek medical assistance as soon as possible, preferably within 72 hours. This is because medication such as the Morning After Pill and Post Exposure Prophylaxis which can prevent pregnancy and HIV infection respectively work best the sooner you take them otherwise they become ineffective after 72 hours.
  
• If you wish to report an act of violence at a police station, this has to happen at station that is closest to where you live.

"We encourage people to join hands and stand up against rape and violence in our communities. We need to act now, so that the younger generation will have a safer and better future in our country," concludes Biyela.