AMPLIFICATION
In every part of society, in every workplace, in every school and college and university, in every government department, in every municipality, in every community, we need to be organising men’s dialogues. We need to reach out to boys and young men to develop masculinities that value respect, understanding and accountability. A good example of this is the project by Prime Stars, which, in collaboration with government, focuses on redefining masculinity among young men. This programme needs to be rolled out to all the schools in the country. We need to see the President, Ministers, Premiers, religious leaders, sports people, artists, educators, business leaders, and many others participating in various dialogues, outreach, and awareness-raising activities. We need to re-weave the social fabric, so we become a society that is nurturing, caring, respectful, and in which the human rights of all are protected. We thank our Premiers for convening Provincial GBVF Summits leading up to this Summit. Those Summits have made a huge contribution in raising the level of consciousness about GBV and Femicide and helping to prepare us all for this Summit.
We must build a society in which there is no place for crimes against women, children, and members of the LGBTQI+ community. As we reflect on the progress of the last four years, we can count many successes. We have put the issue of violence against women and children firmly on the national agenda and at the forefront of the minds of many South Africans. We have established critical institutions and mobilised significant resources, but there is much more that still needs to be done. We are not even close to where we want to be. We are confronted with an immensely difficult task. The road ahead will be long and challenging, but it is a road that we must walk together. It is a road that we must walk – together and with determination – so that the women and children of this country may live in safety, in peace, and in happiness. We want to do nothing less than fundamentally and forever change our society. Working together, as we have done over these last four years, I have no doubt that we will overcome and that we will prevail.
I thank you.
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Dec 2022| Collective Action Magazine
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