ADDRESS BY PREMIER
Programmed Director
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are gathered here today to raise awareness around gender -based violence as a human rights abuse. Most of us are familiar with gender violence in interpersonal relations and families.
It is possible that in this house today there are a few people who at one stage or the other engaged in violence against their partner. Maybe we know an uncle, a brother or a brother-in-law who still believes that the only way of proofing that he is a man is by assaulting defenceless women and children.
Yet we are afraid to talk about it. Even some of those who are educated amongst us will always find an excuse why we have a swollen eye, a split lip or bruises on the face and body.
No, we are not victims of abuse. We have either tripped on the stairs; knock ourselves against a pillar or slipped in the bathroom. Why must it be like that?
Violence against women and children must stop being a private matter. A matter not to be discussed publicly. Gender violence, rape and other forms of sexual abuse are gross violations of human rights.
It is our problem. It is a crime that affects all of us. It increases health costs, keeps people from showing up to work, prevents them from performing at their best, keeps children out of school and often prevents them from learning.
It destroys families, relationships and lives, and often prevents children from growing up to establish successful families of their own. As government we are calling on all health care providers not to just treat victims of domestic violence without enquiring about the abuse.
In a gentle manner ask how the injuries were sustained and whether a charge has been pressed with the police. That is the task we have given to our healthcare providers and other volunteers. I want to encourage health associations, health care providers, and public leaders across our nation to do more.
We must build a more comprehensive response to gender violence throughout our health care system by supporting and encouraging routine screening of domestic violence. The scars of domestic violence and sexual abuse are too deep.
Children who are abused are wounded in their self-esteem; they feel dirty, ashamed, they lose faith in others. For boys too, physical abuse as a social norm is carried over from generation to generation.
Boys who watch their fathers abuse their mothers are more likely to become abusers themselves, thus perpetuating the cycle. That's where our social services department comes in. Counselling the victim, the perpetrator and the children who watch the violence. For too long we have closed our eyes as a nation, hoping the truth was not so real.
In partnership with all sectors of society, we must continue to give absolute priority to HIV/AIDS and violence against women and children.
The power to defeat the spread of this evils lie in our joining hands as youth, as women and men, as business people, as workers, as religious people, as parents and teachers, as farmers and farm workers, as the unemployed and the professionals, as the rich and the poor - in fact, all of us.
What can we as government do? Strengthening the legal framework, both at the international and national level, is obviously crucial. Yet the best of laws will have little effect if there is not the will to enforce them.
Nor will they have any impact if we do not seek to change attitudes, particularly among men and in local communities. This is where the real change will come from. What can all of us do, you may ask?
And I call upon all of us to act together to end the domestic violence that threatens too many of our families. All of us, leaders, the media, communities, must speak out and tackle the issue more aggressively.
Only a dedicated, more inclusive approach involving broad partnerships with governments, local communities, and the media can help bring about such changes.
We need to break the silence. And we must use our resources for approaches and interventions that work. And we, men, must shoulder our own responsibility. Allow me to speak personally as a male.
We men need to explore more honestly what our responsibilities should be with regard to curbing male violence toward women. We need to work towards the moral regeneration of our society. Let us take the message to the street.
The millions of people in employment are a captive audience for campaigns against the abuse of women and children.
Given the fact that these employees are family members, parents and community leaders, collectively the business sector has access to the majority of the South African population. And as government we employ close to a million people and will thus be affected by domestic violence like any other large employer.
Each government department must therefore develop a better understanding on how exactly domestic violence is impacting on its line function. Communities have tremendous powrs, resources, and ability to find appropriate solutions to their problems. Community based organisations therefore enjoy a high degree of credibility and can mobilise large numbers of people.
Non-governmental organisations are usually formed to address a particular problem. Their operational principles are flexible and usually appropriate to the task at hand.
Campaigns against women and child abuse are likely to succeed if they enjoy a high degree of community involvement and support.
Community-based and Non-governmental organisations are key partners of government in the fight against violence against women and children and in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
These types of organisations are well placed to raise the awareness of gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS in communities before the harsh realities of the epidemic become more evident.
Similarly the entertainment industry, arts, culture and sports target mainly the young section of society. Sporting personalities like Doctor Khumalo are powerful role models with the ability to influence attitudes of societies.
The arts and entertainment sector are in an ideal position to spread our anti-women abuse messages. I believe, therefore, that it is important for all of us to educate each other about the evils of women and child abuse.
Everyday every night - wherever we are - we shall let our families, friends and peers know that they can save themselves and save the nation, by changing the way we live and how we love.
We shall use every opportunity openly to discuss the issue of violence against women and children and the danger AIDS poses.
As Partners Against women and children abuse, as ambassadors of the AIDS campaign, we must together pledge to care. And so today we join hands in the Partnership, fully aware that our unity is our strength.
The simple but practical action that we take today is tomorrow's insurance for our nation.
There is no other moment but the present, to take action. And to take it now.
I thank you.