WORLD VISION WRITE-UP
Gender-Based Violence
Dr (h.c) Yolanda Petersen is the owner and Group Executive Director of [BEGET] Strategic Project Management Solutions. A company specifically geared toward hosting end-to-end Project Management, Supply Chain, Procurement and Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E), and Analytics Services. The company is geared towards building clear business, supply chain, marketing, and project planning strategies that can adapt to rapidly changing and volatile environments. Providing Strategic Consulting to a multitude of (varied) businesses.
Dr. Petersen has a keen passion for COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT and EMPOWERMENT, especially that of Women and the Girl-child, and is very active in the NPO / NGO sector Framing, Drafting and Leading on Strategic Projects and Policy Development in recent months inputting recommendations into the new South African Gender-Based Violence Act. At the core, her current Social Impact Projects focuses on 3 key pillars: YOUTH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT and (UNEMPLOYED YOUTH) through EDUCATION and the CONTINUAL FIGHT TO STOP THE SCOURGE OF FEMICIDE AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE. It is difficult to quantify the exact number of human lives, citizen-lives including the likes of our women and girl-child who have died at the hands of Gender-Based Violence. In South Africa, numerous protests were held calling to our National Office (Presidency) to show an active interest than working alongside Civil Society, NGO’ and Women Shelters, and other Key Stakeholders to end the plight of GBV. We were met with superficial promises which speak directly to their lack of political will.
Gender-Based Violence is as pervasive as it is devastating! The statistics speaks for themselves:
(1) 1 in three women globally experience violence.
(2) Research shows that younger women are most at risk. (3) Intimate partner violence is by far the most prevalent. The question begs – What is [BEGET] SPMS doing to educate, help, design programs that call for urgency and agency? Without a doubt Girls and Women are at heightened risk of GBV, abuse, rape, and exploitation as they are now forced to spend uncountable hours locked behind closed doors because of the harsh lock-downs which COVID-19 necessitated. In my line of work and as recently as last Tuesday I spent time at Home For Abused Girls – the data accrued were shocking! The cycles of abuse that these young girls had to endure would make any stomach turn a double-knot. The most infuriating finding was that their PERPETRATORS are free to roam as they wish. The South Africa Judicial System build into our Democratic Countries Constitution states “Innocent until Proven Guilty”. There is something inherently wrong with that. In the case of Domestic Violence, we often find mothers along with their young children uprooted, having to flee in the early hours of the morning normally with no other shelter, lack of finances, and any basic trauma support which, again, in my opinion, should be available to them 24hours. I am angered at the perpetrator being able to rest a solid night’s rest in their marital home after causing much distress. Our South African Police Services ( SAPS) usually do not have the adequate police vehicles to send out immediately and are incapable of acting on every reported case. So where does that leave the raped and abused mother? Where does that leave the nerve-wracked children? What happens to their school the next day? What happens throughout the protection order interdict process. Most women have indicated: “Dr. Yolanda – I can live with the physical scars but the psychological and emotional scars are too much to deal with!”
[BEGET}SPMS offers together with our trained medical and trauma professional the following ‘mind-set shift training”
(1). Empowering Women and Girls around their Constitutional Rights for safety
(2) Changing Gender Norms and Social Attitudes
(3)Preventative Education and Awareness Raising and Campaigning
(4) Education to our boy-child and Men
(5) Transforming and upskilling our Judiciary System, Health care Workers, and Women Shelters, and other Safe Spaces. Our Formalized training held last Tuesday, 16th November was well worth our efforts.
“I am of the opinion the Gender-Based Violence and I’d even go as far as saying that Gender-Based Violence is a symptom – a step-child, if you like of a much larger systemic issue driven by Gender Inequality perpetuated by the eons-old system of Patriarchy” – Dr (h.c) Yolanda Petersen, Cape Town, South Africa.
[pdf-embedder url=”https://www.be-get.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Gender-Based-Violence-for-16-days-of-Activism-Marcia-Brandon-G100-Counrty-Chair.pdf” title=”Gender Based Violence for 16 days of Activism – Marcia Brandon G100 Counrty Chair”]