Making Change Archives - Page 3 of 5

Tax payers that donate qualify for a tax deduction

Not everyone knows that if you have donated an amount to a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) and you are a tax payer then you qualify for a tax deduction.

As an approved PBO Rape Crisis has the privilege and responsibility of spending public funds, which we derive from donations and from grants. In order to maintain our registration as a PBO we must of course ensure that we continue to comply with relevant legislation throughout our existence. Our annual income tax return enables the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to assess whether we are operating within the prescribed limits of the approval we have been granted.

Rape Crisis plays a significant role in society as we take a shared responsibility with the South African Government for the social and development needs of rape survivors, their families and people affected by the trauma of someone close to them.
Since the South African Government has recognised that Rape Crisis is dependent upon the generosity of the public, and, to encourage that generosity, it has provided a tax deduction for any donations made by a taxpayer.

7th February 2018/0 Comments/by rapecrisisblog

16 Days of Noise

Making Change

By Jeanne Bodenstein

“The problem of rape and sexual abuse is an ongoing crisis in our country. South Africa has one of the highest rates of rape in the world, as well as considerable socio-economic disparities, which means that rape survivors get very different kinds of support when reporting a crime.” During 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children this message is screamed from the virtual rooftops of social media, pronounced in almost every news bulletin, is the topic of a high percentage of media interviews and the centre of a spree of events and campaigns. Government departments have never before hosted this many workshops and suddenly all Parliamentarians have an opinion on this issue.

Handing over memorandum to John Jeffereys

RSJC handing over the memorandum to Deputy Minister of Justice, John Jeffery, outside Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court. Photo: Lina Lechlech.

So what happens on day 17?

12th December 2017/by zeenat

Be a Proud Slacktivist this 16 Days

Making Change

By Jeanne Bodenstein

Have you ever wanted to attend a demonstration from the comfort of your own home? To be an arm chair activist without shame? We have the answer to your wish.

Sexual offences courts now! (Photo:Alexa Sedge)

The end of the year is marked by Christmas lights in our local shopping malls, year-end functions and the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women. During the 16 Days of Activism, people from around the world find ways to actively express their discontent with the high rates of violence against women and sexual violence in particular. This is a chance for people to stand in solidarity with survivors of rape and other forms of sexual violence.

7th November 2017/by zeenat

Support Thuthuzela Care Centres #EnditNow

Making Change

By Kathleen Dey

I’m listening to a rape survivor tell a conference room filled with people the story of how she was raped at the age of 14, shot, shoved into a pit latrine and left for dead. How she didn’t die. How she lived. How she crawled to safety. How she named her assailant and sent him to jail for life. How she lives with a bullet in her neck. How she prevailed against thoughts of suicide by finding the Rape Crisis counselling service. How she wrote a book about her experiences called Dear Bullet or a letter to my shooter. Many in the audience are in tears. Others are shocked even though they are experts in this field. As she ends she says, “We need to stop rape. We need to save rape survivors by helping them to talk.” Her name is Sixolile Mbalo.

Dear Bullet

26th October 2017/by zeenat

National Wills Week in September

Making Change

The Law Society of South Africa will host National Wills Week from 11 to 15 September 2017. During this week participating attorneys will draft basic wills free of charge. You can read more about this and find all participating attorneys by clicking here. By making a Will you ensure that your assets are disposed of in accordance with your wishes after your death.

A qualified attorney can advise you on any problems which may arise with regard to your will and ensure that your will is valid and complies with your wishes. If you die without leaving a valid will, your assets may not be left to the person of your choice, it might take a long time to appoint an executor and there may be extra costs. There can be unhappiness and conflict among members of your family because there are no clear instructions on how to distribute your assets.

Leaving a legacy

Bequests and legacies provide an important income stream for many charities. A Will is the best way to safeguard the future of the causes important to you. When you make a bequest in your Will, you make a difference. A difference to a worthwhile charity and a difference to people in need. One of the most important things our generation can do is provide the means to ensure Rape Crisis is around to continue serving the thousands of rape survivors attended to every year.

7th September 2017/by zeenat

Give Your 67 Minutes to Rape Survivors this Mandela Day

Making Change

Whether you’ve already signed up to attend Rape Crisis’ Mandela Day event on July 15th or have yet to sign up, learn more about Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCC) and how your own community is affected. I spoke with Nomnqweno Nomxhego-Gqada, Thuthuzela Care Centre coordinator, to shed some light on the importance of these care centres and how our Mandela Day event will contribute towards this effort.

Nomnqweno Nomxhego-Gqada

Nomnqweno describes how TCC’s are distinct from other care centres, providing a multitude of services all in one location. In addition, counsellors are present at all times to provide greater accessibility and emotional care. The several services present in a TCC contribute to one goal as stated by Nomnqweno, “[to make] the survivor more aware of what to expect and minimise the level of trauma as [the survivor] will not be telling their story each time they meet a service provider.” TCC’s play an essential role in increasing conviction rates as they allow a greater number of clients to have testing which will provide DNA evidence in court.

10th July 2017/by zeenat

#MenAreTrash

Making Change

When I first became aware of the #MenAreTrash hashtag it was never a stand-alone thing. The hashtag always preceded or followed a story, in less than 140 characters on Twitter, about why men are trash. Every reason for using the hashtag was real. Horrific stories of rape and abuse shared the hashtag with downright rude stories about men dissing women and girls for how they looked, dressed, spoke. One tweeter used #MenAreTrash to describe the total stranger who flooded her with unsolicited dick pics. Another posted a picture of her black eye. There was the one who addressed her harasser personally, and another who posted a thread of daily incidents of harassment she had experienced since puberty. It was a long list. Sometimes #MenAreTrash was the single word answer to a tweet that was sexist or inappropriate or ugly towards women.

When I first encountered the hashtag I had no idea how it was going to be taken up, or how much it would trend. But, more importantly, I had no idea how fierce male resistance to it would be.

9th June 2017/by zeenat

Rape does not start in the bedroom

Making Change

She wants to run but has nowhere to go. She wants to scream but has no voice. She wants to cry but has no tears. She is alone. Walls. Walls. That’s all she has. Four walls surrounding her, covered in cracks and mould. No picture frames. No light. Just walls. She lies curled up on a worn-out mattress and clutches her knees to her chest. The mattress smells like him. Her stomach churns and she chooses to lie on her back. She hates his scent. She tries not to focus on the smell and instead focuses on listening. There is a faint rustling of leaves outside and the occasional humming of birds but aside from that, there is silence.

But silence on the outside does not escape her from the agonising noises inside her head. Her inner screams, cries for help, voices of desperate longing and praying that he won’t come back. Her thoughts about him come in like a cancerous invasion. Every time she tries to take control of her mind and think of something different, those thoughts come back stronger and multiply. They haunt her. They never leave her alone.

14th March 2017/by zeenat

Meet our new Thuthuzela Coordinator

Making Change

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My name is Nomnqweno Nomxhego-Gqada and I’m 35 years old. I obtained my Bachelor of Social Work at the University of the Western Cape.

I’m a humble, goal-oriented and very persistent person. When I was 18 years old, I joined Rape Crisis as a counselling volunteer. Back then my interest was stirred by the lack of knowledge around the issues of gender based violence in my community, especially from young girls. This encouraged me to get involved and make them aware of the issue while also imparting knowledge of available services around Khayelitsha.

My role as the new TCC coordinator is to lead and manage the Thuthuzela Care Centres’ counselling service team to ensure delivery of high quality counselling services to rape survivors. The three sites are situated in Heideveld CHC, Victoria Hospital and Karl Bremmer Hospital.

14th February 2017/by zeenat

We got through 2016 thanks to you!

Making Change

alexasedge_staff_07

Dear supporter,

Rape Crisis has a dream of a world where women feel safe and are free from sexual violence – a world in fact where everyone is of free from rape.

This year you helped us train the volunteer counsellors who are there to offer support and empowerment to anyone traumatised by rape. You helped us pack care packs for rape survivors at our annual Mandela Day event. During the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women you stood with us as our Rape Survivors’ Justice Campaign demanded specialised Sexual Offences Courts outside Athlone and Khayelitsha courts in an effort to get government to roll these courts out across the country as promised.

21st December 2016/by zeenat