Powa wants same support as Covid
Legal advice gets R3.5m funding
Gender-based violence programmes should be funded at a similar capacity as the Covid19 pandemic.
This was the sentiment at the relaunch of People Opposing Women Abuse (Powa) legal department yesterday.
The department, which helps survivors of abuse with legal advice and support when opening cases and applying for protection orders, had been closed for over two years because of lack of funding.
“GBV, like Covid-19, has been declared a pandemic but there is not enough support. We want the same support as Covid-19,” said Powa legal adviser Tebogo Mashota.
Powa, which has secured R3.5m funding, will be able to operate for about three years.
Mashota said since they reopened three months ago, they have seen about 150 women.
Another legal adviser, Disemelo Tlali, said they aim to provide quality, womencentred legal services.
“We have a survivorcentred approach and strive for a safe and equal society intolerant of all forms of violence against women and girls, were we are treated with respect and dignity and our rights are promoted,” Tlali said.
“South Africa has some of the highest rates of GBV in the world and the legal department is critical to ensuring women receive the justice and security they deserve.”
Powa has been funded by Ford company. Magistrate Nicola Olivier from the Johannesburg court said the legal system often frustrates women. “Some of the women come and they are not legally represented by a lawyer, some come without any proof of abuse like a medical record or voice recordings,” she said.
Olivier said some women are deterred by police from opening criminal cases and they are only able to turn to the courts with a civil matter which allows them to provide for a protection order. Therefore, support such as Powa’s legal department is necessary for helping survivors feel comfortable and not lose hope.
Jeanine de Weet, a domestic violence court manager at the court, said she sympathises with survivors of abuse because she was in an abusive marriage for 14 years.
She uses her past experience to help women who are in need of the court’s services.
“I know what it is like to be abused for nine months of your entire pregnancy.
“Not just a klap, but being beaten so badly that you have to be hospitalised,” she said.
She eventually left her husband and took her four children to safety.
For Powa’s services, call 011642-4345.