Challenging the culture and helping end abuse
Pastor Vuyani, leader of Umvini Community Foundation explains the context in South African communities: “Gender-based Violence (GBV) is about so much more than a man abusing a woman or child. Particularly in rural communities, there are many ancient rules for women to obey. For example, there are certain places in the village where women are not allowed. Sometimes they are not permitted to speak in community meetings. In some places, women are not supposed to carry money. The rules are many and differ from one family to another.
“The gender-based violence workshops with E3 have given us a platform to talk about these issues and challenge the status quo. Emotional, financial, spiritual and physical GBV must be addressed now so young men and girls are equipped to live differently. Challenging stereotypes is starting to show results, but there is still a long way to go – especially in rural areas where most GBV issues are endorsed by high authorities, and no one is allowed to challenge them.”
E3 and Umvini GBV workshop for grandparents
The speaker encouraged a discussion on the rape of Tamar (2 Samuel 13) and 1 Kings 1, which both give a biblical perspective on the issue. Many of the elderly participants are filled with hurt about their own GBV experiences within their homes and communities. There was a lot of emotion because they finally had a platform to speak out. We also discussed drug and substance abuse and how they can teach young people about the dangers.
Here's what some of the participants said:
“I have a disabled child in my home whom I did not know was experiencing abuse from the uncle.”
“I know of a couple who looked after two orphaned girls and the husband ended up abusing the older girl, who was less than 15 years old. The wife did not know. But after some time, it was known, and the abused girl was banished from the house and the man was never brought to justice.”
“These types of workshops are really important for us so we know what is happening in our communities and can speak about it in a safe space.”
“We need to pray for our families, children and a revelation from the Lord, especially for the men and our African culture. We need to pray so that issues of gender-based violence can be broken in our society.”
How E3 workshops are enabling people to speak out
“With tears of joy, I thank you for this workshop because it saved the life of someone who was about to commit suicide. She was saying her husband was abusing her and no one seemed to understand her, but after the workshop she confided in me.”
— A pastor in South Africa who attended a recent workshop. “We also need to consider male victims. We are happy to have this kind of discussion in the church environment and now we have the responsibility to extend this to our communities.”
— Male pastor“I am happy that us girls can discuss sexual abuse with the people from E3. Our parents don’t share these matters with us – maybe they are shy, and we fear to ask. Now we understand our bodies and know how we can protect ourselves from being sexually abused.”
— School pupil
“It’s good that as women we can now begin to dialogue about these issues, especially with men, as culture disallowed this kind of discussion in the past.”
— Female pastor“Through the teachings on GBV, you have equipped us…”
E3 continues to run seminars with church and community leaders on Gender-based Violence (GBV) to explore the issues and bring change and healing. In Zambia, we facilitated a seminar with our partner project, Centre for Christian Missions, on:
• Creating awareness of GBV
• Why the church is silent about GBV.
• Working together to ensure justice for victims and the prosecution of perpetrators.
Here are some powerful quotes from participants, which show the impact of the workshop and the desire to learn and bring change.
