Popular musician Blondie Makhene. Photo: Timothy Bernard
“Take a stand against GBVF”.
That’s the message that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development together with the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, and the Music Performers Association of South Africa (MPASA), will take to Ekurhuleni this weekend.
The National Taxi Alliance and the Kwa-Thema Tavern Owners Association, soccer players, mental health specialists, the National Funeral Practitioners Association, and local civil society organisation working with victims of GBVF, are also joining in to address the alarming rate of gender-based violence within the community.
Veteran music stars, Babsy Mlangeni and Blondie Makhene, and Kwa-Thema’s finest musical icon, Joe Nina, will at the Kwa-Thema Society for the Care of the Aged in Springs, Ekurhuleni.
The founder of the anti-GBV series of events and the Music Publishers Association of SA (Mpasa), Stephen Tsie, said the inclusion of social players, will help amplify the voice against GBVF, which continues to be a shameful scourge in local communities.
“In response to the scourge of Gender-based Violence and Femicide (GBVF), the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Department of Arts, Sports and Culture along with MPASA, a prominent civil society organisation representing music performers, we are honoured to once again host an impactful GBVF dialogue. The dialogue is a direct engagement with communities and various Civil Societies in developing intervention mechanism and preventative measures in fighting GBVF,“ Ntsie added.
The initiative comes as government intensifies its efforts in fighting GBV.
The South African Government News Agency says that government and civil society continue to forge a collaborative approach to ensure the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF-NSP).
Launched in April 2020, the GBVF-NSP has six pillars, including accountability, coordination and leadership; prevention and rebuilding; justice, safety and protection; response, care support and healing; economic power, and research and information.
The Star
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