Legal Aid for Victims of Domestic Violence in SA

LvA’s work follows a two-pronged approach: PREVENTION and RESPONSE. In addition to providing integrated legal and psychosocial support services to victims when violence does happen, we seek to empower women and girls in Diepsloot, providing them with the tools to challenge the conditions that lead to the existence of violence in the first place. Through our community engagement programme, dedicated LvA team members work tirelessly to reach far and wide into the Diepsloot community through clinic talks, local radio programming, school workshops, community workshops, and other outreach events. In doing so, we seek to educate and empower young women, learners, teachers and community members at large to catalyse change around gender-based violence (GBV).

One such initiative is LvA’s Community Action Group, which launched in 2017. Action Group members are graduates of LvA’s GBV Workshop Series who want to utilise the information gained through the series to mobilise change in their community around GBV. LvA provides Action Group members with further training and skills development around community mobilization, activism, and project planning. While the Action Group is capacitated and supported by LvA, the Group is self-led and determines the shape and content of its advocacy strategies and outreach campaigns. In 2017, the Action Groups held an outreach event at the community mall to raise awareness of violence against members of the LGBTI community, conducted a door-to-door campaign to raise awareness around GBV and LvA’s services, and executed a community dialogue which took place during the 16 Days of Activism against Violence against Women and Children attended by over 200 community members and other stakeholders.

On 31 May, the Action Group held a March and Community Dialogue to raise awareness of high levels of femicide and abuse of women and children in the community. The event began with a march that wound along and through the streets of Diepsloot. Once inside the community, the group was joined by the marching band of the local metropolitan police department who then led the way, attracting a lot of attention and gathering additional community members along the way. The march ended at a local church where LvA and other stakeholders addressed the community members, sharing information about services provided and answering any questions that arose. This led to a robust conversation with those in attendance on issues around GBV and poor service delivery in the community. Upon reflection after the event, group members shared how participating in the Action Group gave them the understanding, skills, and confidence to speak out against issues that were affecting them and the violence that has become so normalised in their community. 

Links:

• Check out our website!
• Click here for more photos from the event!

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

Eradicating gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa is no small feat.  Helping each victim of women and child abuse and addressing existing systemic gaps is a massive undertaking.  Try as we might, LvA cannot do it alone. Neither can our partners, which is why the Diepsloot GBV Forum was founded. 

The Forum brings together key state actors such as the police, Department of Social Development, Department of Health, and the Diepsloot Community Policing Forum (CPF), as well as civil society members engaged in the fight against GBV in Diepsloot including Afrika Tikkun, Childline, Green Door, NCVT, Sonke Gender Justice, the Teddy Bear Clinic, and many more, to develop strategies to combat GBV in Diepsloot and to address the systemic and structural gaps that exist. The Forum offers stakeholders an opportunity to share challenges they are facing and for each member to benefit from the experiences and expertise of others.  

In late March, the Forum hosted its first meeting in an effort to identify the key issues contributing to high GBV prevalence rates in Diepsloot and challenges facing both victims and stakeholders. The meeting brought meaningful discussion and concrete ideas to address the unique challenges we all face in Diepsloot.  Among the issues discussed were lack of post-rape medical care, absence of shelters within the community and the need for ongoing training of CPF members.  For each problem presented, an equally creative strategy was developed - all of which LvA and our fellow Forum members will begin implementing before the Forum reconvenes next quarter.  

We are excited to see the real change that this Forum can bring. There is strength in numbers and we are certain that the collective passion and expertise of these stakeholders will make a meaningful difference in the lives of women and children in Diepsloot. 

Links:

• Check out our website!