South Africa has a history of violence.

If we allow it to fester and grow beyond the monster that it has become, it has the potential to kill the collective futures of an entire generation.

Worse still, survivors are often left to pick up the pieces of shattered lives all by themselves. And that in itself, is a grave social injustice. The SJI had embarked on a social media campaign during 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, to raise awareness and funds to keep the advocacy and services provided by community-based care centres operational. We set out this campaign with a pledge of R400 000,00 from a group of businesswomen who committed themselves to encouraging their networks to support this effort and by the end of 16 Days had managed to raise a total sum of R310 300,00.

#ViolenceEndsWithMe campaign

The #ViolenceEndsWithMe campaign addresses the issues that we as a nation, are not comfortable addressing such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, gun violence, and various forms of public violence. It is an ongoing campaign developed with a consortium of organisations, aiming to shift the narrative and understanding on violence and increase the funding for programmes promoting safety and reducing or actually preventing violence in SA. With international sources of philanthropic funding slowly drying up, and corporate South Africa experiencing the effects of a sluggish economy, funding from individuals is integral to help survivors overcome their trauma. While the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence may be over, the need for raising funds continues in earnest. Judging from the response to our campaign, South Africans from all walks of life care about our collective futures and stand in solidarity against violence.