SPEECH BY PREMIER DAVID MAKHURA: LAUNCH OF THE 16 DAYS OF NO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN CAMPAIGN INIKHAYA LETHEMBA, BRAAMFONTEIN
25 November 2016
Programme Director, Ms. CriseldaKanada;
MEC for Community Safety, MEC SizakeleMalobane-Nkosi;
MEC for Social Development, MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza;
HOD of Community Safety, MsYolisaMakhasi;
Business Leaders;
Senior government officials;
Representatives of civil society
Ladies and Gentlemen:
In August last year, we convened a dialogue with the women of our province from all sectors at the iconic Women’s Gaol at the Constitution Hill.
We used that occasion to report back on the progress we are making in implementing the programme for transformation, modernisation and re-industrialisation of the Gauteng City Region.
We also reiterated our commitment to ensuring that women, including young women, become the primary drivers and beneficiaries of this programme.
During this year's Women's Month, I reiterated this message at the Ntirhisano Dialogue with Young Women in Gauteng which was held in Ekurhuleni. We took the opportunities to report back on the progress and challenges in our ongoing struggle to improve the lives of young women in our province.
During August, I visited IkhayaLethemba Victim Empowerment Centre for the first time to see for myself the tremendous work being done by government in partnership with Non-Governmental Organisations, business and Law Enforcement Agencies to help survivors of gender-based violence to rebuild their lives. It is here that I came face to face with women who confidently pronounced that they came as victims but they are now survivors. They have taken charge of their own destiny.
On that day, I interacted with some of those who were housed at this Center and whose lives have been impacted positively by being here. IkhayaLethemba is the largest victim empowerment centre with a capacity to accommodate 120 women and children. In addition to IkhayaLethemba, there are 25 other victim empowerment centres that are supported by the Gauteng Provincial Government across the entire City Region. These centres make a huge impact as they service women from all over our country and help them to rebuild their lives.
It is fitting and proper that we launch this year’s 16 Days of No Violence against Women and Children Campaign at this sanctuary place of hope for survivors of gender-based violence. Hundreds of women have entered the doors of this center as powerless victims and came out as empowered women who have regained their confidence and dignity.
I wish to reiterate that the campaign of No Violence against Women and Children must be a daily campaign that is waged year-long. We must collectively – as government, civil society, business and the community in general – make it our primary mission to raise awareness on gender-based violence and call for firm action against perpetrators of crimes against women and children.
We seek to build a caring society that protects and provides support to the weak and most vulnerable sections of the population.
We must continue to spread the message that gender-based violence and abuse of children are aberrations that reflect that our society is seek and must be procured. Today, we recommit ourselves to build a Gauteng City Region that is free from all forms of violence and discrimination.
This task is ever more urgent because we live in a world where 1 in 3 women will experience violence in their lifetime often in the hands of someone they know, love or trust!
In line with this year’s theme; “Taking practical steps to end violence against women and children”; we will use this campaign to assess progress made in building a Gauteng City Region where women and girls can flourish and prosper peacefully alongside men and boys, sharing in and benefitting from a society that values their skills and accepts their leadership.
As we do this, let us remember that out of 13.4 million people (24% of South Africa’s total population) who live in Gauteng, more than 6.5 million are women and more than 2.1 million are girls below the age of 15. Gauteng is home to more than 1.3 million children between the ages of 0 to 5.
Women and children, therefore, form a significant and important part of the Gauteng’s citizenry. Their plight is our collective plight. Their well-being is our collective responsibility.
We will not remain silent when women still bear the brunt of unemployment, inequality, poverty and gender-based violence. Equally it must concern us when our children face abuse and our girl children miss school because they don’t have access to sanitary towels.
In pursuit of our vision of a transformed, modernised and industrialised Gauteng City Region and particularly to expand meaningful participation by women in the economic mainstream, we are proud that over the past two years 2 036 women-owned SMMEs were developed and supported through funding and the provision of business development support. In addition, 677 women-owned cooperatives were supported; as well as 148 women run agricultural cooperatives and 72 women farmers.
In the 2015/16 financial year 24.3% of our total procurement-spend went to female owned businesses. Currently all our hospital linen contracts have been awarded to female owned companies, including cooperatives.
Young women are also significant beneficiaries of our Tshepo 500 000 programme, through which we are giving hope to young people by facilitating access to employment, skills development and entrepreneurship opportunities.
From April 2015 up to February 2016, 62 420 unemployed young women were recruited through Tshepo 500 000; 21 751 decent sustainable jobs were created for young women as of March 2016; 572 women were accredited in entrepreneurship and 4 000 women benefitted from public employment opportunities in our municipalities.
The implementation of the Gauteng City Region Accelerated Social Development Strategy has also gone a long way in helping us build a better Gauteng for women and children. Guided by this strategy, we are intervening to raise the standard of living and quality of life for all in Gauteng.
We are proud that since 1994, we have made tremendous progress in ensuring universal access to education. Enrollment in our public schools has grown from just over 1.3 million learners in 1994 to 2.3 million learners. The gender gap in respect of enrolment is zero in primary schools. More girls complete schooling at Grade 12 than boys. More than 1.7 million females are attending at an educational institution in Gauteng and in 2015, 83.2% of Gauteng female learners passed matric.
Between 2012 and 2015, we invested R450 million in bursaries to 8 400 students to pursue studies at higher education institutions - 70% of these bursaries were for female students. This year together with our municipalities we are spending more than R540 million for bursaries to deserving students, many of whom are female.
We are also well on track towards our goal of providing dignity packs to a million girl learners in Gauteng by 2019. This will enable them never to miss school again because of lack of access to sanitary towels. Since 2015 to date we have distributed close to 500000 dignity pack across Gauteng.
Ladies and gentlemen, more than 141000 children are enrolled in publicly funded Grade R. We are also supporting more than 88000 children through our Early Childhood Development (ECD). We are pleased to announce that we have begun expanding our ECD programme. Our goal is to reach universal access to ECD in the next 15 years.
As part of strengthening our ECD interventions we have embraced the Reggio approach to early childhood development, which emphases the holistic development of children by encouraging them to search for knowledge through their own investigation.
We remain concerned about our apparent in ability to substantially reduce crime against women and children in Gauteng. We are however seized with this task. And working together with all law enforcement agencies we believe we will win the war.
Some of the interventions in this regard include the implementation of the Gauteng Safety Strategy which has a specific focus on enhancing social crime prevention. Over the past three years we have trained 93 forensic social workers to boost our conviction rates. We continue to encourage tougher sentences for perpetrators of gender based violence.
We are also intervening to support survivors of gender-based violence. This includes establishing victim friendly rooms in our police stations. Currently 141 police stations in Gauteng have victim friendly rooms. We have also established 3 regional victim offices; in Duduza, Orange and Tembisa.
We must also take action against violence perpetrated against lesbians in our communities. We abhor and condemn the violence and victimisation of fellow citizens who are gays, lesbians, trans-gendered and inter-sex (LGBTI) individuals. They too are human being and they have rights which must be protected. There is no place homophobic hatred and violence in Gauteng.
Programme Director, we are the first to admit that we still have a long way to go towards a Gauteng City Region should be a place where women and girls can flourish and prosper peacefully alongside men and boys.
We are determined that the day shall come when we would have fully restored the liberties of women and children; the right to be safe at home, the right to walk safely on the streets, the right to go to school, to work, to the market or even to watch a film. We are working hard that those who commit violence against women and children are punished, that justice is done, and that we can get care and support to the victims.
We must build a society that safe for women, children, lesbians and gays. We shall overcome! We shall create a society free from violence; a society safe for all; a caring society that is more humane; a society that cares the most vulnerable and the weak.
As a man, a husband, a father, a brother, an uncle, a citizen and a leader, I pledge my life to fight against the scourge of violence against women and children. Please count me in, in breaking the cycle of silence.
I would like to conclude by calling on the private sector to join us in giving the survivors of gender-based violence a second chance in life. We are also here to raise some money so that we can improve the conditions of IkhayaLethemba Building so that it can continue to be a sanctuary and Home of Hope.
I call on those who have the means to dig deep into their pockets and give whatever they can afford. What you give tonight can save many lives and help many women and children to take charge of their destiny and regain their dignity at this Home of Hope. There can be no cause greater than helping the women and children who are abused, victimised and violated reconstruct their lives and conquer their dreams.
Allow me to conclude with a poem titled "Gift of Giving" by an anonymous author:
Give out of love, not out of obligation.
Give when it's least expected.
Give without strings attached.
Give from your heart.
Give of yourself.
Give to show that you care.
Give to help without causing helplessness.
Give something that takes personal sacrifice.
Give to make a difference.
Give without keeping a score.
Give for no reason at all.
Give a little if you can't give a lot.
Give without attracting attention to yourself.
Give without being asked.
Give of your experience.
Give to those who need it most.
Each one of us can and must contribute to making our society safer and more secure for women and children. We can do it. Once more, count on me.
Thank you and may God Bless You!
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