Page 32 - SCAT GBV Report - Addressing Gender-Based Violence - 2021

We’ve missed something out because before, at home, boys used to do work that is done by girls, and girls used to do work that is done by boys. Not anymore the sharing of chores and respect ... If we can share everything, that is another way of respecting at an early age.
Sandra Ntshona, CBO stakeholder.
It’s women themselves, they are the key players ... Older women have internalised culture so much, and they think it’s how things should be – it’s that internalisation of GBV in women that is a stumbling block for them, and for us.
Nobuzwe Mofokeng, ILDA.
Especially with gay people, it’s almost seen like a ‘corrective measure’ – what the perpetrator did – so there’s not much support for those who suffer from these incidents.
Emmerentia Goliath, WRDC.
Stigma, discrimination and violence against people on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity is, as elsewhere, commonplace in rural communities. Perceived to disrupt heteronormativity, and reinforced by discriminatory customary and religious practices, LGBTIQ people in rural communities are becoming an increased focus of LDA activity.
If you are a lesbian you are not accepted; you are cast away in our communities. There is a lot of education and restoration that needs to be done ... Little by little our community is becoming aware of developments and embracing the diversity ... So, we are seeing that in our communities now, there are these new Makhoti’s being lesbians, being gays.
Misiwe Ngqondela, CBO stakeholder.
We have lesbians and gays who are volunteering with us. We work for the community, and these people are our community members so we are not going to judge everyone – because they come from our community, from our families, they are our brothers and our sisters ... they are the ones that are the most vulnerable and their rights are violated.
Jeanette Mqomo, KSDF.
Some LDAs offer targeted support and encourage the participation of LGBTIQ community members in their activities. In some cases, direct interventions to educate key role-players on LGBTIQ rights has reportedly improved the situation:
Sometimes they don’t get the help in the correct way from the different departments ... They are also people that need respect and need to access services. I think that changed because the awareness starts off when someone gave us funding to raise awareness on stigma and discrimination against the LGBTIQ+ community.
Mary Boer, DOH stakeholder.
The assistance was very poor from the police, and having programmes with them as stakeholders decreased the complaints of the LGBTI community. The same thing at the department of health – going to the clinic for testing or, for example, if you have a sexually transmitted infection – the judgment that would come from the nurses, and those complaints have decreased.
Joey Ramohlabi, KSDF.
32
“Finish this Elephant”: Rural Community Organisations’ Strategic Approaches to Addressing GBV