Speech delivered to MEC Dan Plato at No More Victim Summit on gender based violence

1. NO MORE VICTIMS SUMMIT
20 NOVEMBER 2012
DAY 2
SPEAKER: MONICA HEYNES
SPEECH ADDRESSING MEC DAN PLATO ON GENDER BASED VIOLENCE PREVENTION STRATEGIES
Good Morning everybody present, all protocol observed and all guests welcomed at Day 2 of the No
More Victim Summit here in Mossel Bay
I am Monica Heynes, Founder/President of SCREAM, an organization that primarily deals with
Gender Based Violence in the George area. I am also the volunteer coordinator of the Victim
Empowerment Project at George SAPS. I have a partnership with George SAPS where I function as
coordinator and at the same time serve victims of gender based violence. I am a trained paralegal,
community worker but most of all I am a phenomenal woman and a survivor of GBV myself.
Partnership between the civil society and the local government is essential in combating the problem
of GBV. Both partners could bring skills, experiences, resources and opportunities for developing
effective collaborative programs.
GBV is a complex problem that requires a comprehensive response. Efforts must go beyond the
individual to affect social change.
GBV is the community’s problem – we need to shift the responsibility to address and prevent GBV
from women and move it over to the whole community.
GBV should be seen as the context of life, not an event. Approaching GBV through a primary
prevention framework recognizes that violence is not limited to an event as beating and forced sex ,
but includes an array of actions and behaviors that shape how a man and a woman experiences life.
Thus GBV forms the context of, rather than an event in a man’s or a woman’s life. The response to
1

2. GBV therefore also needs to address the broader social climate than only responding to incidents of
violence.
GBV prevention involves promoting equity in relationships between men and women. The root
causes of GBV are to be confronted and challenged if long-term sustainable change is to be realized.
Preventing GBV will influence the nature of relationships between women and men and will have far-
reaching effects. It will affect how the community apportions resources, solves problems and it will
open up more opportunities for women and girl children to participate in processes within their
families and communities.
From the grassroots up we should start with our efforts to change behavior. Promoting inter-
personal change at the community level can provide momentum for the development of equitable
laws that protect individual rights. Grassroots prevention efforts create a climate in which equitable
laws are likely to become effective.
GBV is a long term commitment .Changing long-held attitudes and behaviors’ is a long term process.
It requires sustained commitment, resources and momentum.
Ad-hoc efforts that engage isolated groups or implementing sporadic activities have limited impact.
The time has come for organizations, government structures and local government to start
acknowledging the complex history, culture and relationships that shape a community and the
individuals that lives within it.
Community leaders must engage and lead these efforts or preventative programs and show
community ownership. Organizations can play an important facilitative and supportive role, yet the
change must occur in the hearts and the minds of the community members themselves.
We are very delighted to announce that Mossel Bay Municipality will be assisting with the
registration of a Section 18a organization that will concentrate primarily on GBV prevention ,
response and support . We must move from recognition to action and from best intentions to
best practice.
2

3. In order to better address this broaden and complex issue we recall the appeal of Charlotte Bunch,
Executive Director of the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership, I’m quoting:
“what we really need is leadership at the highest level of the UN in the form of action to end violence
against women, not just another report followed by yet another resolution”
Let us here today commit to ourselves first and all the leadership here today can come into action to
change the communities we all grew up in and still live in.
Thank you very much.
3