The protest was held on the campus and organised by the social work student organisation, SOWASK. Protesters, dressed in black with lips taped shut as a symbol of the silence that surrounds this sensitive subject, took to the streets with posters voicing their concerns about the recent increase in violence against women and children.
Elias Mokete, one of the few male students that are pursuing a career in social work, says this kind of violence is done in the name of manliness. “As a man, I want to say that it is not okay. It needs to stop. We are agents of change. We shouldn’t just say it is wrong, we must take action to stop it.”
Protesters were also handing out flyers with information on how to report abuse when you see it happening and to whom it should be reported to. The flyers contained the names and contact numbers of organisations that work with woman and child abuse. “This isn’t only a protest, it is also a way to empower people to speak out and report abuse. This way we might have a shot at stopping it altogether,” says Mokete.
SOWASK students on their silent protest against the abuse of women and children.
Dr Elmien Truter, guardian of SOWASK and also social work lecturer on the campus, says the abuse of women and children is a sad reality that is dealt with on a daily basis in the practice of social work. “It is happening out there and we need to speak out about it. We need to encourage people to report the occurrence of abuse. Sometimes that is the only way that it is ever discovered. Speaking out saves lives,” she says.
The students were joined in their cause by their lecturers, Prof Ansie Fouché and Dr Elmien Truter.
