05 Dec 2016

As part of the commemoration of 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence (GBV), Tebogo Horatios Carter  Foundation (THC) together with United Nations NFPA held an awards ceremony to reward junior secondary school students who were engaged in an art competition.

In his keynote address, the Assistant Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Mr Kefentse Mzwinila said the cost of GBV was high.

“The cost is measured in the pain and suffering of the victims of GBV and this pain and suffering is extreme and debilitating. Hence there is need for concerted efforts to fight the scourge,” he said.

Mzwinila pointed out that, the cost of GBV to the country in terms of medical bills, lost productivity, lost lives, trauma counselling and other costs was unsustainable.

He therefore said it was only through initiatives such as this exhibition that people could raise awareness about the plight of women and children, adding that prevention was always better than cure.

He said objective of the competition was to give students an opportunity to share and express their thoughts on GBV.

“Today's exhibition comes at a time when globally it is said one in four women (25 per cent) has experienced some form of domestic violence. Furthermore, indications are that more than five children die every day as a result of some form of child abuse or neglect.

 GBV and domestic violence are problems that we are continuously grappling with in our country.

Therefore, THC Foundation sought to highlight and subsequently deal with this scourge that it is taking root in our beloved country,” he pointed out.

He also said sensitisation and discourse were usually the first elements of a successful campaign.

“THC Foundation's GBV art exhibition is a step towards creating a safer environment in our society especially in our schools as more students and society members become aware of GBV,” he said.

He said, as more junior secondary school students participate, the THC Foundation was making them part of the solution, by raising their fundamental awareness of their respective positive societal roles.

For his part, the Founder of THC Foundation, Tebogo Masire, said the world could not fight poverty if women continued to be marginalised and abused.

He said although art could be voiceless, it had potential to bring light to the unspeakable.

“The main purpose of the exhibition is to raise awareness amongst the public, I hope it has also given our young artists a platform to launch their careers in the art sphere. It will also empower them,” he said.

The Foundation is established to advocate and lobby for change in attitudes and policies relating to domestic violence.

In addition, the foundation is meant to provide training in skills development to empower women and further to promote education by scaling up national awareness levels and public education on existing laws. ENDS