R2K Statement – Right2Know to join the national #TotalShutDown march

The Right2Know Campaign will be joining the national #Totalshutdown march against gender-based violence onWednesday,  1 August 2018.

As R2K, we have continuously raised our outrage about the high rate of reported and unreported cases of violence against womxn, children and the LGBTI community.

As our country will be marking the 16 Days of Activism against violence on womxn and children, R2K wants to once again raise our voice to say enough is enough. We cannot afford to remain silent while there’s a silent war against children, womxn and LGBTIQA+. As a nation we have witnessed the negative impact of gender based violence on children, womxn and LGBTIQA+ and the time to act against abuse is now.

We call on the national government to intensify advocacy, public awareness, training and support with a developmental approach in order to address the current scourge. We must not wait for the 16 days of activism in order to see our government’s commitment in fighting against this scourge. Government must act decisively against officials who are accused of domestic violence.  As the campaign, we believe that there is an urgent need to combat patriarchy across all sectors of our society. Our work on combating patriarchy internally in the organisation has taken a number of forms, including workshops and resolutions from the national summit, the highest decision-making structure of the campaign.

We also call on all institutions especially our religious centers and institutions of learning to prioritise gender sensitising curriculum and workshops as the scourge is escalating at that level especially in our universities.

We call on the justice system to desist from secondary victimising and failing people who come forward to report abuse related cases. Testimonies currently being shared on The Total Shutdown: Intersectional Women’s March Against GBV facebook page are heart-breaking and we salute everyone who has had the courage to share their pain publicly. We also encourage those who are suffering in silence to come forward. We call on men to stand with womxn and say not in our name. We demand justice for all survivors and victims of domestic violence, sexual harassment and femicide!

March details:

Cape Town: CPUT to Parliament

Time: 9AM – 1:30PM

Durban:  Curries Fountain To City Hall

Time: 8AM – 1:30PM

Mafikeng: Montshiwa Stadium to Mmabatho Civic Center

Time: 9AM – 1:30PM

#OngaziMakazi   #TheTotalShutdown #MyBodyNotYourCrimeScene #AugustOne #MeToo #Womxndla #MenMustAct #Right2Life