The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) views in a serious light concerns raised recently by Minister of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities, Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya, on the continued abuse of women and children in the country despite efforts made by the annual 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign to raise awareness among citizens.
As such the NYDA will join in activities to mark the 16 Days Campaign including visiting a home for abused children in Pretoria in December 2009. Furthermore the NYDA calls into action South African citizens in general and young people in particular to join in various activities that seek to decisively eliminate the monster of gender based violence.
Moreover our approach should be to translate the activism against gender based violence into a year round activity, where no space is left for be abusers to occupy. Various sectors of society must be more organised to stem out this persistent plague seeking to undermine women who are givers of life.
“The NYDA will continue to engage young women through its annual Young Women’s Development programme launched in 2007 (by the then National Youth Commission), to empower them to understand and claim their space in society without fear of abuse or victimisation,” says Innocentia Motau, Non-Executive Director of the NYDA board.
It is the view of the NYDA that empowering women and children to break the silence on the continued abuse should be complimented by a justice system that equally responds with speed in bringing to book the perpetrators before any loss of life. Incidents of innocent women losing their lives in the hands of abusers, should not replicate themselves in a country that has a constitutional obligation to protect its citizens including the Domestic Violence Act.
For more information contact:
Siyabonga Magadla
Cell: 083 686 9016
E-mail: smagadla@nyda.gov.za
Refilwe Mphane
Tel: 011 651 7175
Cell: 084 308 5860
E-mail: rmphane@nyda.gov.za
Issued by: National Youth Development Agency
25 November 2009
Source: National Youth Development Agency (http://www.nyda.gov.za/)
