Latest news with #LucindaEvans
Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Daily Maverick
From dreams to action — Lucinda Evans champions child safety and empowerment in SA
Lucinda Evans, feminist activist and founder of the Cape Town non-profit organisation Philisa Abafazi Bethu, is in the business of defending and empowering survivors of abuse. Her dream is a world in which children, women, men and members of the LGBTQIA+ community can live in peace and safety. 'I think for us, we're still dreaming the big dream. Some people, they motivate you by saying, 'Your dream must be so big, it scares you'. It scares me daily… I work with people's lives every day. I work with hearts. I work with souls. I work with trauma, and I work in a space of genocide — I have owned that word, that GBV (gender-based-violence) is the genocide in South Africa.' These were the words of Lucinda Evans, feminist activist and founder of Philisa Abafazi Bethu, a non-profit organisation in Cape Town that aims to protect and empower abused women, children and LGBTQIA+ individuals. When Evans started Philisa Abafazi Bethu in 2008, she ran it out of the dining room and garage of her home in Lavender Hill, opening her first safehouse in her backyard. More than 15 years later, the organisation has grown beyond her wildest expectations, with the Philisa Abafazi Bethu Women and Family Centre established in Retreat, and three safehouses serving abused women in need of emergency shelter, members of the LGBTQIA+ community and children facing acute trauma, respectively. Evans decided to found her organisation after witnessing a man beating up his girlfriend on her street. Though there were other people standing around, no one stepped in to help her. Evans intervened by knocking the man with the mirror of her car, and when she was told the situation was none of her business, said: 'I'm making it my business.' 'My business is that of a human rights defender, a defender of children and women. It includes the LGBTQIA+ (community), now. It also includes men,' she told Daily Maverick. 'Mopping the sea' Evans said that while she had seen the difference Philisa Abafazi Bethu made in the lives of children and families, in wider society 'nothing much has changed' when it came to protections for children. 'We find that South Africa has become even worse when it comes to protection of children,' she said. She referenced the *Cwecwe case, which involved the alleged rape of a seven-year-old girl from the Eastern Cape town of Matatiele. The matter has yet to be taken on for prosecution by the National Prosecuting Authority due to 'insufficient evidence' in the case docket originally presented by the police. 'The Cwecwe case represents every single child in this country that has been sexually violated where there is no proof, or the case goes to court and the child is not able to give chronological, factual information,' said Evans. 'Children don't have that capacity… to speak chronologically, and so most of the time these cases are thrown out. Where does it leave the child? What does the child become? What is the trauma?' Evans called on the 'custodians of child protection', including the Commissioner for Children in the Western Cape and the National Department of Social Development, to step up efforts to provide protection for children. 'You are… mopping the sea at the moment, when it comes to children… Because… I cannot see, as an activist, where the inroads, the apex points of intervention are,' said Evans. New approaches to child protection In November 2024, Philisa Abafazi Bethu opened an emergency safehouse for children, designed to provide short-term intervention for victims in acute cases of abuse, rape or molestation who had nowhere else to go. 'I work with social workers directly. My team was screened and vetted. We give you seven days… to trace a parent, to get another family member involved, (and space for) the child to recuperate… You have an option, you have a bed — everything is in place,' said Evans. However, the organisations has struggled to get state support for the programme, as the established child protection system doesn't recognise emergency safehouses for children. Another project Evans is aiming to launch in November is an early childhood development (ECD) centre for children who have experienced violence. 'There would be an intervention programme that would help children defuse themselves, through art therapy, through music, through all the therapies tailored for a child,' she said. Evans noted that the period between the ages of zero and five was critical for a child's learning, meaning that very young children who experienced trauma should have access to interventions as early as possible. 'The education system isn't built for an educator to pick up on these things, because there are outputs; there is a syllabus; there are timelines for when children need to know things… I want to pilot this ECD centre as a therapeutic space in which we build all of these things already for a child,' she said. 'The (child's) nervous system would have a better chance in a Grade One class versus at the moment, where schools are suspending and expelling Grade One learners for displaying violence and bullying, but nobody sits anybody down and looks at intimate partner violence in the home.' Looking ahead Child protection starts within homes and families, according to Evans. She called on ordinary South Africans to be proactive in reporting abuse of children within their communities, and condemned instances in which people protected perpetrators. Evans said: 'What keeps me going… is still the dream that one day all of us can just live in peace. As a child, to be able to play in the street and nobody grabs you and hurts you and rapes you. For parents to be able to parent their child in whichever way parenting positively happens. 'And for spaces to be available for parents who are not able to manage, so they can go to a place that can help them, journey with them… I'm dreaming of a place where men and their nervous systems can be calm and violence-free.' DM
Eyewitness News
27-05-2025
- Eyewitness News
Organisations fighting GBV criticise govt for failing to protect SA women
Ntuthuzelo Nene 27 May 2025 | 15:24 Gender-based violence (GBV) Crime statistics Picture: Pixabay CAPE TOWN - Organisations fighting gender-based violence have criticised government for continuing to fail to protect South African women. The recently released crime statistics show that women remain affected by murder, assault GBH and rape, which stands at 10,688. ALSO READ: • Sexual assault cases see spike in first quarter of 2025, reveal statistics • Despite decrease in reported rape cases in Q4 crime stats, gender activists want urgent intervention to end GBV Between January to March this year, 36 more rape cases were reported in South Africa compared to the same period last year. Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal contributed 19.1% and 19.9% respectively to the total number of rapes in the country. More than 8,400 domestic violence-related crimes were also reported in the Western Cape between January and March this year, an increase of 236 cases. One Billion Rising South African co-ordinator, Lucinda Evans, said that the real genocide in South Africa was violence against women, which government continues to ignore. "As One Billion Rising, we once again call upon the president to put to use less lip service and to do action, and action in terms of protection of vulnerable women and children." Callas Foundation's Caroline Peters said these numbers were unacceptable. "And behind every number there's a survivor, often silenced, that's still waiting on justice, so we must do better." The Western Cape statistics also showed that 76.7% of the victims in all domestic violence-related incidents reported during this period were women.
IOL News
08-05-2025
- Health
- IOL News
Western Cape launches 10th GBV Ambassador Programme with the help of community volunteers
The Western Cape Department of Social Development launched their 10th GBV Ambassador program Image: Supplied The Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) has intensified its fight against gender-based violence (GBV) with the launch of its 10th GBV Ambassador Programme, expanding coverage to Cape Town's Metro South region. The new cohort of 68 trained GBV Ambassadors will serve communities in Manenberg, Heideveld, Lavender Hill, Steenberg, Philippi, Browns Farm, and Gugulethu. These volunteers play a vital role in raising awareness about available GBV support services, assisting in early interventions, and working closely with the police and refer cases of domestic violence. They also volunteer in the police victim-friendly rooms to support survivors. With this latest launch, a total of 283 ambassadors are now active across the province, including areas such as Swartland, Delft, Grabouw, Ceres, and parts of the Cape Metro. For many of these volunteers, the programme is both personal and transformative. 'I want to empower others, showing that supporting our communities should not limit us because of age. If I can do it, so can they. GBV is a big problem, and we need to stand together to fight this horrible disease in our society. I really hope to make a difference,' said 73-year-old Noluthando Mazwi from Gugulethu. Paul Mdidisi, another ambassador, highlighted the value of the training provided: 'The GBV training has helped us with tools to address GBV in our own communities, support victims and deal with the perpetrators.' Western Cape MEC of Social Development, Jaco Londt, praised the programme and its volunteers: 'I commend these GBV Ambassadors for raising their hands to make a positive difference in their communities by supporting victims of abuse. They are not only strengthening the hand of the Western Cape Government in its efforts against GBV, but they also inspire others in their communities to be change agents. They are making a meaningful difference in the lives of those most vulnerable in our province.' The initiative has, however, sparked calls for greater recognition and support for the ambassadors. Lucinda Evans has urged DSD to pay GBV ambassadors Image: File Lucinda Evans, a prominent GBV and community activist and founder of Philisa Abafazi Bethu, welcomed the initiative but raised concerns about the lack of financial compensation for the volunteers. 'I think it's a good initiative, its great for the community and our organisation will work with the ambassadors, but one of the questions I would like to ask the Ministry of Social Development, we see that the safety ambassadors are being paid a stipend. And so we hope that the safety GBV ambassadors will be paid too... 'I've seen the picture, the majority of the ambassadors are women, and kudos to the women that are standing up to support other women and to help the department. But I would have wanted to see the same effort put into safety officers put into GBV ambassadors, because GBV is a priority in the country.' Evans said because this is such a critical function, she believes a budget must be made available to pay them. 'Let's pay the ambassadors a stipend. Let's also see how the ambassadors can be used in the victim support rooms as a paid stipend ambassador.' For more information on the services available to GBV victims through the DSD, residents can contact the toll-free number 0800 220 250, email [email protected], or visit the Victim Empowerment Programme online. [email protected] Weekend Argus
