Executive Mayor Amos Masondo announces a range of activities to mark the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)

Mayor's speech STATEMENT by the executive mayor, Amos Masondo, on the City's participation in the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. Read more RELATED LINKS: Join the campaign against abuse FOR the tenth year, Joburg is taking part in the international 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. It is time to take a stand against the abuse of women and children. Read more City strategy to empower women TIMED to coincide with Women's Month, the City has introduced a Draft Women Development Strategy to affirm its commitment to addressing gender inequality. Read more Gender chief calls for more women on council FOR most of her life, Joyce Piliso-Seroke has been fighting for women's rights. Now the chairperson of the Commission on Gender Equality, she plans to take her fight to one of the country's echelons of power: local government. Read more Women voice their concerns WOMEN shared their personal experiences and sought solutions to the challenges they faced. Read more

Joburg declares war on abuse The City has added its support to the global 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign, and has called on men to take a stand. November 29, 2007 By George Matlala MEN have been urged by the City to take a stand against gender violence, as part of its commitment to the fight against the abuse of women and children. Executive Mayor Amos Masondo has announced a range of activities to mark the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign. It is held annually around the world and is endorsed by the United Nations. The global theme for this year's campaign is Speak out, stand and commit to prevent violence against women and children. Joburg has taken it further, adding the plea, "Joburg men take charge and make a stand against gender violence." This year is the 10th that South Africa is taking part in the global campaign, which runs from 25 November - International Day of No Violence against Women - through to International Human Rights Day on 10 December. It includes 1 December, World Aids Day. Speaking on Wednesday, 28 November, Masondo said that this year's campaign focused on the role of men in the fight against woman and child abuse. Joburg's theme was a call to men and boys to go beyond mere slogans and gatherings and to commit themselves to promoting the message of respect, non-violence and positive behaviour towards women. "We want to challenge men – especially those in public and high-profile positions, for they have a responsibility to give full and vocal support to this important campaign." The City had a Human Development Strategy that dealt with issues like gender equality and the safety of women, Masondo said. "The City of Johannesburg's approach is that action to prevent abuse and violence against women and children is a 365-day, round-the-clock campaign." The campaign would seek to ensure that women and children were free from violent crimes, including rape, domestic and other forms of abuse, he added. "This campaign provides all of us with an opportunity to recommit ourselves to fight against the abuse of women and children." Activities On Friday, 30 November, the City will throw a birthday party for more than 700 orphans and vulnerable children from across Joburg, at Little Falls in Roodepoort. Every Child's Birthday is aimed at acknowledging that every child has a birth date. The event will be co-ordinated by the City's human development and health and HIV/Aids units. And on Monday, 10 December, Joburg will host the Joburg Men Indaba, at which more than 1 500 men and boys are expected to declare a ceasefire on woman and child abuse. The meeting intends to produce a Joburg Pledge and a firm programme of action for the City, aimed at educating men and boys about violence, behaviour changes and supporting structures that help victims of violence. Already, the City has participated in the Million Men March held in Duduza, in neighbouring Ekurhuleni, on Sunday, 25 November. A workshop on disability was held at Museum Africa on Friday, 23 November. Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, the member of the mayoral committee for social development, said men and women had the responsibility to fight against woman and child abuse. "Men and women should equally take the challenge of addressing this problem." She also challenged men to break the silence on the abuse of women and children, and call the perpetrators to order. Physical factors, like a lack of lighting in public spaces, and social issues, like a lack of women empowerment initiatives, were some of the factors contributing to the abuse of women and children. To counter these problems, the City had adopted a Women Development Strategy, which informed programmes and policies set up to promote the development and empowerment of women. The plan sought to empower women in areas such as politics and the economy, and to improve their safety. According to Mayathula-Khoza, an empowered woman was not easy to abuse, as she knew her rights. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za