Cape Town - Delft residents came out on Reconciliation Day last week to get informed and learn more about gender-based violence as part of the City’s initiative to tackle community issues.
The event took place at Delft Central Sports Centre to raise awareness about GBV and to bring the community together, highlighting the issues faced by the residents of Delft, on the Cape Flats, in the City of Cape Town municipality.
The programme featured multiple stakeholders including councillors, neighbourhood watch, civil society organisations, businesses and an array of local artists.
Siyasamnkela Vutula, the City’s mayoral Urban Regeneration Programme facilitator said the event was a response to the outcry from Delft residents.
“From here we can try to be united because you’ll find that we know the perpetrators, but because we are not united, we can’t stop this because you will never be brave enough to report something when you know that no-one will support you,” Vutula said.
Michelle Adonis, DA councillor for ward 13, said that Delft has some of the highest numbers of GBV reported cases.
“The idea is that this will just be a launch for the 365 days that we are still facing for the year to come, to create awareness around GBV because too few people really speak out, to give people the courage to speak up, so that we can end GBV. People speak out but sometimes not to the proper channels,” Adonis said.
Nobanathi Matutu, ANC councillor for Ward 106 said she supported the event in order to help families be more open about GBV and LGBTQIA+ issues. She said going forward it would be crucial to mobilise even more people so they could be educated about GBV.
Delft neighbourhood watch chairperson, Susan Jantjies said: “This event is very important because GBV happens on a daily basis in the Delft community.
“People need to be aware, so these people can get information and know where to go when GBV happens, especially our women and our children. Some people just don’t know how to go about reporting these issues in the area so this will help them get more information,” Jantjies said.
Ward councillors and members of the community joined in the festivities as the music performances had people up on their feet. The initiative also featured small businesses set up across the field as part of a way to drive economic activity in the area.
Informal trader, Delicia Petersen said: “This is an awesome experience for us because we are not only a business, we are a feeding scheme as well. We are selling this food to provide for our feeding scheme on a day to day basis and the feeling is awesome, the expectation is very high and the atmosphere is very nice, so we love it.”
Organisers called upon local artists to perform for the event, giving them a platform to showcase their talents.