24 October 2007
The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children Campaign
is an annual, United Nations (UN) endorsed, awareness-raising campaign that
begins on 25 November each year and runs through till 10 December.
The campaign is but one element of government's yearlong, integrated and
cross-sectoral drive to eliminate the abuse of women and children. The Campaign
hopes to contribute to government's primary developmental objective of
restoring to individuals their human dignity within the context of safer and
more secure families and communities. The key commemorative dates during the
campaign serve as useful platforms for highlighting the plight of vulnerable
groups (women, children, the aged and the disabled) that suffer from this
scourge.
The key commemorative dates for the campaign are:
* 25 November - International Day for No Violence against Women
* 1 December - International HIV and AIDS Day
* 3 December - International Day for People Living with Disability
* 10 December - International Human Rights Day
Objectives
* to create awareness about gender based violence at grass roots level
* to attempt to bring the 16 Days of Activism Campaign closer to the people, so
that every member of society and communities are educated about the scourge of
violence against women and children and the impact it has on the infection rate
of HIV and AIDS
* to challenge the perpetrators of these crimes to change their behaviour and
to educate men that they too are vulnerable to violence and abuse
* to inform the women, children and men of information and services available
to them on gender-based violence
* to encourage society to speak out and not to remain silent about gender-based
violence
* to involve men and the boy child as partners in the campaign for non-violence
against women and children.
* to raise funds for shelters and places of safety for victims of abuse.
Fund raising initiative
Participants will be requested to register at the nearest post office or
on-line. The registration form will have a tear-off section that the
participant will keep as proof of registration. The form will also be used to
count and keep track of the number of men registered for the march. This
registration will cost R10.
The Bikers Association will also be requested to pay R50 to register and
participate with their motor-cycles.
At the stadium there will be stalls for boerewors rolls and other
refreshments. The stalls will cost R500. A tender will be sent out with Term of
Reference for interested parties to apply.
There will also be stalls for the fast food chain stores and they will
register at the amount of R2500 per stall with the market rate still has to be
confirmed.
There will also be stalls for exhibitions such as BMW, Mercedes Benz, etc
and they will register at the amount of R2500 per stall with the market rate
still has to be confirmed.
This will be a transparent process whereby all the funds raised will be
deposited into the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR). This organisation has
been administering the funds raised through the campaign since 1999, through an
audited and transparent process. A financial report is produced yearly in
September.
How to get involved, Mobilisation Plan
A Provincial Task Team will be set up to assist in the mobilisation and
co-ordination of buses of the participants. Provincial co-ordinators will be
appointed to assist in the procurement of buses and the registration of the
participants. They will also take responsibility of the participants during the
march and after the march in order to take them safely back to their respective
destinations.
The Provincial and Local Municipalities will work with their respect ward
Committees and Community Development Workers (CDWs) to publicise the event in
the community.
The transportation of participants from the provinces will be as
follows:
* 1 000 buses per province - 60 000 x 8 provinces 480 000 participants
* Host Province, Gauteng - 520 000 participants
The Host Province, Gauteng - 520 000 participants will comprise of the
following:
* business / private sector - 200 000
* public service - 100 000
* non-governmental organisations (NGOs) - 100 000
* faith based organisations (FBOs) - 100 000
* walk-ins - 20 000
Issued by: Department of Provincial and Local Government
24 October 2007
Source: Department of Provincial and Local Government (http://www.dplg.gov.za)
