Church call for action on women, child abuse

THE shocking increase in the number of incidents of violence against women and children in South Africa has galvanised a group of influential faith leaders to call for immediate and decisive action.

The situation, they say, has become so serious, they believe South Africa has become “a nation at war with itself ”.

The leaders, comprising 41 faith leaders from 16 churches and other faith-based organisations in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, met recently to plan for a campaign of 365 Days of Action to address the crisis of gender-based and intimate partner violence in the country.

Their call comes in the wake of the strident stand taken against femicide by two prominent leaders in the Anglican diocese – Dino Gabriel, the current Anglican Bishop of Natal, and his predecessor, retired bishop Rubin Phillip – who have strongly criticised the alleged involvement of senior members of the clergy in perpetrating gender-based violence (GBV).

They were also critical of the church’s apparent silence over this “epidemic”.

Bishop Gabriel told The Mercury last week that despite South Africa having an excellent constitution, its people continued to live in one of the most unjust and violent countries in the world.

“Similarly, we (the church) have a set of Pastoral Standards to which every licensed cleric and lay minister subscribes.

“Yet these Pastoral Standards seem also to be ignored.”

In a statement issued by the group of faith leaders, they said they had listened to the voices of survivors of sexual, intimate partner and other forms of gender-based violence in recent weeks.

“These voices are troubling to the conscience of our churches and other faith organisations.

“These are voices that call us to become more responsive and humane.”

They said they recognised their own failures in the past when they had failed to listen well to the cries of victims of violence and sent them away with “easy solutions”; stigmatised and even sometimes blamed them; normalised unjust gender relations; and sometimes even excused perpetrators.

They called on people in positions of leadership in different faith communities to join them in taking practical steps to end the scourge. These include:

Involving known survivors to lead or guide initiatives because they understand best what is needed.

Speaking out against sexual and gender-based violence in any form.

Tackling attitudes that make any form of GBV seem acceptable.

Providing safe places for survivors to come forward for help and for support groups to meet.

Tackling any incidents of sexual and other forms of violence head-on; refusing to cover up any reports or excuses or attempts to protect a perpetrator, regardless of their status; and establishing appropriate procedures and forums to investigate specific incidents.

Establishing permanent structures and mechanisms for safe and confidential case reporting.

Including all their teachings in programmes with Sunday Schools, baptisms, confirmations, women’s and men’s organisations and marriage preparation.

Among the many organisations involved in the campaign are We Will Speak Out SA, Phephisa Survivor Movement, different denominations of the church, Diakonia , Sonke Gender Justice and the KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council.