Mandisa Mbotshelwa, Rape Crisis
We know that Khayelitsha has one of the police stations with the highest number of rape cases reported in the country.
The criminal justice system does not recognise the needs of rape survivors in bringing rapists to justice.
That is why Rape Crisis launched the Rape Survivors’ Justice Campaign in 2016, to persuade and pressurise the government to roll out specialised sexual offences courts across South Africa.
Last year, I attended advocacy training sessions hosted by Rape Crisis.
Rape Crisis is now about to start a new training programme for community activists who would like to build their organising skills and abilities.
The course deals with the political aspects of rape in South Africa, and trains people to organise and lobby for change. If you are actively involved, either in your own community or on social media, and you care about violence against women, then this course is for you.
We are looking for people with a wide range of skills and abilities, but if you think you have leadership skills and like to organise people and events then this will be an advantage.
They are looking for volunteers who are reasonably literate and self-confident and who are critical thinkers. By the end of the course, the advocacy volunteers should be able to engage with and persuade groups of people, be able to take initiative and plan well and be able to work in a team.
The course will run for about three months and will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays during the day and starts on Saturday May 27. After that there will be a six month period of on-the-job training.
Although the training is not SAQA or SETA accredited at this stage, assessment takes place throughout the full process of the training course after which participants will be requested to complete a written examination before graduating. To get your application form and for more information, contact Rape Crisis’s advocacy co-ordinator, Jeanne Bodenstein at jeanne@rapecrisis.org.za or call her on 021 447 1467 from Monday to Friday between 9:30am and 4pm. Applications close tomorrow, Friday May 19.
