Community leaders’ training workshop

The workshop drew on participants from the various communities of Oceanview, Kraaifontein, Fisantekraal among others. The theme of the workshop was Gender-Based Violence. Following the welcome remarks from Ms Valma Hendricks and Ms Gladys Mirugi-Mukundi, the facilitators guided the conversation on various thematic contexts of the subject. Dr Nanima Robert led the discussion on the role of men in ending Gender Based Violence. He highlighted the different contexts of subject and how various social-cultural contexts lead to the perpetration and condonation of the vice.  Ms Cherith Sanger’s conversation was in the context of intimate partner violence during the Covid-19 pandemic. She took the participants thorough the recourse individuals have under the Domestic Violence Act of 1998. She spoke to intricate aspects such as the legal framework that counters violence in the family setting, the difference between domestic violence and intimate partner violence and the process for getting a protection order. Dr Michelle Maziwisa guided the conversation on international and national laws on Gender-Based Violence and how they may be used to obtain redress. She engaged the community leaders through group discussions in terms of the availability of information on these initiatives and where one would seek help. The workshop ended on a high note with a group activity where rapporteurs presented their deliberations to the entire house after deliberation.