We often take it for granted that everyone knows and understands what the 16 Days of Activism campaign is about and why the campaign was initiated in the first place.
However, one of the most common questions from communities is why we conduct the campaign, and I’ve heard so many different responses that it dawned on me that each time I write about this event I should start with a brief history of it.
The 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence (GBV) is a global campaign which begins on November 25 and concludes on December 10 each year.
The campaign was initiated by activists at the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991, triggered by the Montreal massacre in Canada, where on December 6, 1989, Marc Lépine entered the École Polytechnique engineering school and shot dead a group of female engineering students before shooting himself.
When asked why he was shooting them, Lépine said he was fighting feminism as he hated feminists and female engineering students were feminists because they thought they could do what men could do.
Women’s movements from across the globe saw this massacre as one of the most extreme forms of violence against women, thus initiating this global campaign, not only to commemorate the victims of the Montreal massacre, but also to raise awareness, stimulate advocacy efforts and share knowledge and innovations for fighting violence against women and children.
South Africa launched its first 16 Days of Activism campaign in 1998, joining the international community in the fight against gender-based violence. The UN Women affirmed that in 2019, the world must pay tribute to, and amplify, the voices of survivors and grassroots activists under the theme “Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands Against Rape - #HearMeToo”, calling for individuals and organisations alike, to listen to and believe survivors, end the culture of silence and put survivors at the centre of interventions.
Significant dates in the 16 Days of Activism period are November 25: International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women; November 29: International Women’s Human Rights Defender Day; December 1: World Aids Day; December 5: International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development; December 6: Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre; December 10: International Human Rights Day and the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Violence against women and children is a detrimental world phenomenon, however. South Africa has become home to alarming levels of violence against women and children.
Femicide has become a common occurrence and children as young as 4 are subjected to sexual assaults at alarming rates within their families or by neighbours. It was reported that in August alone, more than 30 women and girls met their deaths, mainly at the hands of their intimate partners.
South Africa is known for its world-class legislative environment, particularly for safeguarding the rights of women, children and other vulnerable groups including, among others, the Domestic Violence Act, the Sexual Offences Act, the Children’s Act, the Maintenance Act and the Promotion of Equity and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act.
Government and civil society-based structures have been combining efforts to respond to the recent scourge of gender-based violence and child sexual assaults in the country.
However, it appears that as a country we have lost our grip on this phenomenon as violence against women and children continues to tear it apart.
The question we must ask ourselves is why. Why are men in South Africa so angry, and particularly taking it out on defenceless women and children? Where are our laws failing our women and children? How is the justice system failing our women and children?
Where are women’s solidarity movements, like women in 1956, who, regardless of races, culture or religion, united for a common purpose to demand that JG Strijdom remove the pass laws that were imposed on them? This was one event in history that showed that, when united, women could achieve anything.
The state of violence against women and children in South Africa requires that we arouse that spirit of solidarity in fighting for our human rights, the human rights of our women and children.
The 16 Days of Activism must become, as has been written before, the 365 Days of Activism. Every nook and cranny of our society has a crucial role to play. Citizens must move from awareness to accountability - holding government accountable for implementing legislation effectively and taking to task public servants who neglect their public service duties.
Government must enforce consequence management for poor performance by public servants, especially those who take bribes and release perpetrators prematurely or lose dockets.
President Cyril Ramaphosa admitted that it was time the government took emergency measures to deal with the scourge of rape and the murder of women.
“Enough is enough and we are going to act,” said our president, who announced a number of measures to be taken.
However, the rape and murder of women continued, as in the cases of Uyinene Mrwetyana and others.
The scourge of gender-based violence is too costly to ignore, writes Sonke Gender Justice, estimating that gender-based violence cost South Africa between R28.4 billion and R42.4bn in 2012/13, representing 0.9% and 1.3% respectively of gross domestic product lost each year.
South Africa, wake up and reclaim your dignity! Twenty-five years ago, you were making international headlines for your brave and unshakable spirit of resilience. Today you are making international headlines for the cruel and inhumane treatment of your women and children.
* Williams-De Bruyn is the patron of the Sophie and Henry de Bruyn Foundation. The anti-apartheid activist is the last living leader of the 1956 Women’s March.