CFJ News Briefing

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7 December 2021

Dear CFJ supporter,

The global 16 Days of Activism for Ending Violence Against Women and Children campaign is coming to an end this Friday, 10 December. This year the global community focused on the importance of raising awareness about the reality of gender-based violence (GBV) and how we can prevent it from happening.

This year, we focused on the importance of raising our children with values that say loud and clear: no form of violence and abuse is acceptable! Preventing and eradicating GBV starts at home – healthy families provide children with the best opportunity to grow into healthy adults who contribute to creating and sustaining healthy communities. We want to see our children empowered to know what to do to protect themselves and others against GBV, and to report incidents (both now and as adults).

Let’s help set up the next generation for a bright and abuse free future. Let’s teach our children to respect themselves and others!

What is happening at Cause For Justice?

As part of our 16 Days of Activism campaign, we emphasised the importance of values-based sexuality education in schools. It is vitally important to combat GBV by taking a step back and teaching our children healthy values about sex, gender and relationships.

Most perpetrators of GBV are male and most victims are female. Values-based sexuality education teaches boys how to treat women and girls with respect. It teaches girls what respectable (i.e. acceptable) treatment by boys and men is – and what is not.

This is why we must ensure that any sexuality education a child receives at home or in school, is values-based. It must also be scientifically accurate and age-appropriate. Thankfully, there are many great values-based programmes available!

It is the responsibility (and privilege) of parents to teach their children about healthy sexuality and relationships in accordance with their family values and beliefs. Children who are taught to treat themselves – and others – with respect and dignity, will not participate in GBV and will speak out against it. This is why we say preventing GBV starts at home.

Learn more about these four values-based sexuality education programmes

Tomorrow’s Leaders in Training
Life at the Crossroads
No Apologies (Focus on the Family)
SmartLife

by contacting us and keeping an eye out on our YouTube page for introductory videos to be launched soon.

Gender-based violence in the media

National Director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Shamila Batohi, has reiterated that “South Africa is nowhere near dealing with the scourge of GBV.” She empahsised that GBV is among the key priorities of the National Prosecuting Authority. She also called for people to realise that ending the scourge on violence against women and children will have to involve the whole nation. We all have a part to play to create a South African society that respects women and teaches the next generations to do the same.

It is no secret that teenage pregnancies contribute to the high number of school drop out. However, what is more hidden, is the fact that it is the high rates of sexual violence against women and girls that drives the high rates of teenage pregnancy. One of the reasons sexuality education was introduced into schools, is to decrease the number of teenage pregnancies. However, according to statistics, it has had the opposite effect.

That is what happens when children are taught that sex is simply a recreational activity. A recreational view of sex risks seeing someone else’s (or your own) body as a mere “thing” to be used for sexual satisfaction – while our bodies and sexuality are worth far more! It also minimises the real and serious responsibilities that come with engaging in sexual activity. This is why it is extremely important to teach children values-based sexuality education.

We are also celebrating a victory for sexual abuse survivors: a serial rapist from the Eastern Cape was handed 6 life sentences for the atrocious acts he committed against women. Every single person that gets brought to justice and every judge that vindicates the victim, is a victory we should celebrate in the eradication of GBV from our society.

In Closing:

Our children are the future generations who will bear the responsibility to steward our country and the world – one day passing on the baton to their own children. We all have a part to play. One impactful way is to ensure that South African children receive scientifically accurate and age-appropriate values-based sexuality education in schools. This will help them understand what healthy values and relationships are, and to reject all forms of violence and abuse.

Join our 16 Days of Activism campaign: let’s stand together against GBV by standing for raising healthy children in healthy families. Now that is a cause we can all get behind!

Together In Justice
Ryan and the CFJ Team

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