Hon Chairperson, hon members, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is now almost a decade since the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign was launched in 1999, as part of efforts by the government to rally citizens against the high levels of violence directed at women and children, which has been prevalent in our communities.
The objectives of the 16 Days of Activism campaign is to uphold the rights of citizens and restore the dignity of the most vulnerable members of our society. Among our major goals were the aims of raising awareness of the challenges posed by societal attitudes and practices that continue to perpetuate gender-based violence and child abuse. And I must say that the incident that just happened in this House shows me that even in this House there is not yet an appreciation of those conditions and attitudes that perpetuate gender violence, because the victims of gender violence doesn't only have to be women and children. Violence doesn't begin with a slap; it begins with verbal abuse.
In the past decade, our government, guided by the constitutional rights guaranteed to the people of South Africa, has come up with numerous laws that are meant to protect the dignity of each person in this country.
We have also established progressive policies and implemented various programmes that are currently being implemented to protect women and children. And here I must commend all those departments who participate in the Victim Empowerment Programmes in partnership with the private sector and also the police who have assisted with trauma centres in partnership with the community.
We have also in the past decade been able to expand the campaign activities and extend them to reach even the poorest and remotest of communities and this has been an important milestone as it is in these communities where such violence against women and children is prevalent.
According to research studies conducted by, among others, the Government Communication and Information Systems, GCIS, about a year ago, societal awareness about problems such as child abuse, domestic violence, as well as violence against women in general, has increased considerably.
The GCIS study conducted towards the end of 2006 found that about 33% of South Africans were now aware of the 16 Days Campaign and conceded that violence against women and children should not be accepted, whereas only 16% were aware of this in 2003. So, I think that the campaign does help - our programmes help as well - but it is also very important to change people's attitudes.
But having said that, hon members, let me hasten to say that we still have a lot of work to do if we are to win the fight against gender-based violence. One of the tasks facing us is that of strengthening our structures and improving co-ordination between these structures and enhancing the partnership between the government, private sector, nongovernmental organisations and community-based organisations.
This, however, should not be viewed as an impossible task, because already the basis for this has been laid as the number of civil society organisations that have embraced the campaign has increased significantly since 1999. There has also been incredible growth in partnership between the government and the private sector with all parties throwing their full weight behind the 16 Days of Activism campaign. This has had a number of positive consequences, such as the joint effort that enabled us to raise some of the required funds for a number of nongovernmental and community- based organisations dealing with victims of gender violence and child abuse. About 24 such organisations benefited from the support funds in 2006 alone.
During the past nine years, the campaign has succeeded in getting more men to support the fight against violence that is directed at women and children. This culminated in the Million Men March in November last year in which over a million men from all provinces took part in the main march in Bloemfontein and in various other marches held countrywide. These men not only participated in marches but they have also been actively involved in an ongoing way. They are engaging with the department and attending workshops. I think that the men's movement is definitely growing.
It is important that we strengthen our efforts because one of the challenges that we have to deal with, if we are to win this fight, is the challenge of reducing the levels of alcohol and drug abuse in our communities. There are indications that the abuse of alcohol and drugs contribute towards the high levels of woman abuse, child abuse and elder abuse as well as to the spread of HIV and Aids. This is the most difficult part of the campaign because it requires individuals to undergo a change of heart as well as to change their behaviour. It is something that cannot be dealt with only in terms of policy formulation or by simply enacting laws; but we really need to get the entire civil society to participate and join the structures of the National Drug Master Plan in order to combat the scourge of drug and alcohol abuse that we are experiencing in our country.
The messages that we have been carrying to people as part of the communication strategy for the 365-days campaign of talking to people about behavioural change, is the impact of violence and the link between gender- based violence, alcohol and drug abuse and HIV and Aids.
We also need to communicate through the most effective and appropriate channels aiming to reach the maximum number of people across the country, particularly women and children residing in the rural areas, farmworkers, people with disabilities and the aged. This requires us to broaden our focus from the usual reliance on the urban and mainstream media and focusing on the local media as well as increasing our community outreach programmes.
Already we have aligned most of our events in the national programme with that of the international theme for the year, which focuses on matters relating to women's human rights. And we believe that our communications should also seek to highlight the stories of survivors of gender-based violence and the positive impact that the campaign has had on their lives. Before I conclude, let me convey my gratitude to all the South Africans who have taken a stand and pledged not to look away when they witness gender- based violence and child abuse. I am also very grateful of the role played by businesses and the contributions made by the private sector as a whole towards the 16 Days of Activism Campaign. These do not only relate to financial contributions made by the South African media and related institutions which have supported the campaign from day one and played an important role in getting our messages as well as key information regarding the abuse of women and children to the public. I thank you.