Page 17 - SCAT GBV Report - Addressing Gender-Based Violence - 2021

Yet, women leading the charge also means that the burden of tackling GBV is primarily borne by them, and so they play a disproportionate role in its response. As one respondent put it, ‘[a] lot of the women are there doing the work irrespective of whether they are being supported or remunerated, and that requires respect. It really does’ (Lesley Ann Foster, key informant).
Patterns of abuse that keep victims trapped in cycles of leaving and returning to their abusers are challenging for LDAs to manage (Karimakwenda et al, 2020). However, by taking a victim-centered approach, organisations can appreciate and understand that such cycles are indicative of the dynamics of GBV.
The woman wants help but if you go to help her then she’s against you. But then you mustn’t give up. You must go back to that person, talk to that person, and let her win your trust. And then she stands up, in that house. But sometimes they are scared.
Deseree Brand, WRDC.
In placing voice and choice at the centre, LDAs are able to cultivate spaces for women’s rights and perspectives to increasingly define community development and change.
2.3 Enabling access to justice through advice and accompaniment: “To see that they get justice”
Community-based paralegals ‘play a significant role in providing access to justice to the poor and marginalised in areas where there are no direct legal services’ (Samaai, 2010:233). Given this historical role, a key function of LDAs is to offer legal assistance and accompaniment for GBV survivors to exercise their right to justice. As already discussed, LDAs operate as community advice centres, with legal advice being a primary part of what they do. At the same time, their role extends well beyond advice-giving, to include accompanying survivors in their interactions with the state, with service providers, and with community members and leaders in their quest
Jonathan van der Westhuizen coordinator of SALDA facilitating a GBV drama forum workshop in Sandveld on the West Coast.
“Finish this Elephant”: Rural Community Organisations’ Strategic Approaches to Addressing GBV 17