Making Change Archives - Page 4 of 6

National Wills Week in September

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 Sino

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 Sino

#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 Sino

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 Sino

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 Sino

We got through 2016 thanks to you!

Making Change

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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 Sino

#HerNameWasVovo and she was a human being

Making Change

I am a middle-class, white, cis-gender woman who is perceived to be heterosexual. Because of this I am protected in many ways from the hate and violence that is levelled against poor, black queer people like Noluvo Swelindawo, who was kidnapped from her house in Driftsands and murdered because she is a lesbian. I am not sexualised and perceived as ‘deviant’ in the way that Noluvo is. My body has not being transformed by hundreds of years of exploitation into something unhuman, like hers has.

Noluvo Swelindawo. Pic: IOL

But I am not as protected as I have always thought. On the 30^th of October 2015 I was raped.

15th December 2016/by Sino

Athlone Training and Development Volunteer Applications Now Open

Making Change

Join our dynamic team of Training and Development Volunteers at our Athlone office. Applications close 20 December 2016.

What is the volunteer training program?

comprises an experiential training course and probation period
the experiential training course is facilitated by experienced Rape Crisis Trainers over approximately 3 months
the training course is divided into 3 sections involving Personal Growth, General section (political, social, legal, medical and psychological) and Facilitation/training skills development sections
assessment takes place throughout the training course and some participants may decide to withdraw
a probation period of 6 months after completion of the experiential training course during which time trainees will facilitate workshops, do talks and information stalls and attend buddy group meetings and focus group meetings
at this stage, the training is not SETA/SAQA accredited

T&D Volunteer, Feroza Booysen facilitating discussion on the myths and stereotypes around rape at Belgravia High. Pic: Alexa Sedgwick.

21st November 2016/by Sino

A Letter to Carol and Anne

Making Change

Dear Carol and Anne

I am one of the burlesque dancers you seem so intent on dehumanizing and invalidating.

I am also a rape survivor.

When I originally read Carol’s letter, I was hurt, she was after all, effectively telling me that my efforts to support my fellow survivors were invalid simply because our feminisms don’t align. She was telling me that her feminism is better and more valid than mine. But I made an effort to understand where Carol was coming from, her feminism, and how what she was feeling might have some validity based on her background and beliefs. Despite her very weak attempts to “research” burlesque and her complete refusal to actually engage with a single one of the dancers she was condemning, I tried not to judge. I even considered thanking her for her part in creating Rape Crisis, an organisation that I wholly support today. Even if the organisation and those who operate within it have moved on, moved forward, hers was a vital and necessary role back in her day, and I wanted to acknowledge that.

Then I read Anne’s letter.

Then I read them both again.

Now I am angry.

28th September 2016/by Sino

Trying to Build Bridges of Understanding

Making Change

Why I am unhappy about the Rape Crisis association with Burlesque shows.

It has been so difficult writing this blog, I have begun it and deleted it a number of times. As Kath Dey stated in her blog there are different forms of feminism, I want to expand on that.

I care about the women who work in Rape Crisis and I admire the achievements of the organisation. As old as I am I’m a very current, relevant type of feminist, my politics are radical feminist and this aspect of the feminist political spectrum has made a significant impact over the years on exposing the horrors of the global patriarchal culture of rape and femicide. Even in this time of backlash against feminist politics radical feminists all over the world are fighting back.

This particular analysis lead to the anger and energy that formed rape crisis organisations, battered women’s refuges, exit programs and safe houses for prostituted women attempting to escape pimps, brothels and traffickers throughout the world. Radical feminist research informs and assists with the creation of special police units, created to stop sex trafficking and rescue and rehabilitate women and girls. These liaise with each other and Interpol across continents.

27th September 2016/by Sino