Garden Route women march against abuse
All hands on deck as women from Knysna join the Total Shutdown, a national march that stands against femicide scheduled to take place on 1 August.
Women from Knysna and Plettenberg Bay will be marching in George in protest against gender-based violence, with their slogan My Body is Not Your Crime Scene.
One reason why the march will be in George is because rape cases and similar matters are heard in the George Magistrate’s Court.
Building up to the shutdown these women have been meeting every Wednesday draped in black and red, sharing their experiences and stories of survival, making placards, finding their voices and claiming lives under #IwillMarchForYou and #IwillMarchWithYou.
This week the women from Knysna met at the Old Gaol and wrote their stories of abuse, harassment and objectification, and placed them into a box anonymously. Each woman picked someone else’s story card and read it to the camera.
One of the organisers, Candice Reiky, said, “There is a lot of shame that comes with abuse and sometimes it is this shame that keeps women from sharing their stories, so this exercise is aimed at giving these women an opportunity to share their stories anonymously – their lived experiences might be someone else’s breakthrough.”
The Knysna police’s victim support unit, which has been running for over three decades, say they are vehemently against gender-based violence and stand behind the march.
Their coordinator, Constable Ntsiki Kema, said, “We should take it a step further and say #NotInMyName. We are 100% behind the movement and some of the women from victim support will be there at the march.”
Would you like to join the march?
There is transport available to go to George on 1 August – if you are interested, contact Candice Reiky on 060 715 3607.