When it comes to leadership, the focus of my organisation is twofold. Firstly, it is about helping people become mentally well and transforming trauma. We provide skills and tools to identify, respond to, and transform trauma. Secondly, I emphasise leadership because I believe it plays a crucial role in our context. There is deep-seated leadership wounding at various levels, and I see two places where solutions can emerge: at the family level and the leadership level. Transforming families and addressing wounded leadership is vital. I often discuss the concept of wounded leadership in a trauma context. It is essential to ensure that our personal wounds do not hinder the work we want to accomplish. Many of us who work in spaces like sexual and gender- based violence (SGBV) are survivors ourselves. There is something personal that draws us to this work. However, if we are not aware, our own wounds can impact the organisations we create and the work we do. This is similar to what has happened in South Africa, where passionate individuals helped build the country but carried their wounds into leadership roles. If these wounds are not healed and leaders continue to operate from a place of bleeding, it affects the country as a whole. This is why we witness the issues we see today. It is a delicate area where empathy needs to be activated without judgment, while also recognising the cost of doing this work.
CAM: Speaking of SGBV, you mentioned a recent report on Lusikisiki being the rape capital of South Africa, which is quite alarming. I recall reading a report by SAPS at the end of last year, where rape and sexual assaults were identified as the most common and highest-reported forms of gender-based violence. What are your findings on how Lusikisiki has become the rape capital of South Africa? Nomfundo : Yeah, it has been an honour to be part of this project. We collaborated with the Old Mutual Foundation, and I want to express my gratitude to the Deputy Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, Ms. Nocawe Mafu, for addressing us and speaking with Lhasa from Old Mutual. She expressed her concern about what is happening in the Lusikisiki. The communities there face unique challenges as women, even though they are still connected to their traditional village roots despite rapid urbanisation. We were surprised to find that the 16-year-old age group had the highest incidence of sexual and gender-based violence while Thohoyandou ranked fifth based on the statistics we obtained during the summit in November 2022. This led her (the minister) to request our assistance. Most of my work revolves around trauma-informed approaches to SGBV. It is important to distinguish between trauma-focused SGBV and trauma-informed SGBV. Trauma- focused work involves understanding trauma, supporting survivors in their healing process, and capacitating organisations involved in this field. There are several organisations doing this work that also need support and training in trauma. The trauma-informed approach, on the other hand, acknowledges that everyone, including staff members, managers, and board members, has been affected by trauma. It requires applying a trauma lens in all aspects, from working with survivors to developing policies and engaging with the board. We were invited to provide this work in Lusikisiki.
The full interview is available on our YouTube channel @collectiveactionmagazine (link: https://youtu.be/GT5b8aGGzoU)
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