Programme director
Members of the Executive Council
Mayors and Councillors
Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen RP Shivuri
Members of the protection, defence, security and correctional services present
Government officials
Religious fraternity
Non-Governmental Organisations
Civil society
Members of the media
Ladies and Gentlemen

Today we are gathered at the very same place when we launched the Provincial Call to action earlier on the first of June. I am encouraged by the event and the stand taken by our women in the armed forces who today once again re iterate their commitment to fight women and child abuse. I am honoured that through your presence here today, you are joining the clarion call that says not in my name shall the lives of our women and children be threatened, not in my name shall I stand by idly and watch our children, women and elderly be subjected to abuse and violence.

It is befitting that you chose to make this bold statement in Women’s Month, that is being commemorated under the theme, “The Year of OR Tambo: Women united in moving South Africa forward.” We are also gathered two days before we celebrate National Women’s day to be hosted in Kimberley that will be addressed by the honourable President of the Republic of South Africa, his Excellency President Jacob Zuma. I herewith wish also to extend an invitation to all present to join us at the event. Please also spread the word and bring along the men in your lives and families along.

Ladies and gentlemen, at the forefront or in the frontline of all our campaigns advocating strongly against violence have always been women. We are pleased to say that we witness that more and more men are stepping up to the plate in their condemnation of violence against women and femicide.

Our Country is gripped in this crisis that impacts on every member of society. Our Communities are gripped by fear and desperate for a solution to end violence against those most vulnerable. The killing of our children and women needs to stop and it needs to stop now. The purpose of this gathering is exactly that. It is a call to action. It’s a call for help. And it is a call to wake up and stand together as we do today.

It is also a call especially for men to stand up and to loudly proclaim that NOT IN MY NAME SHALL ANOTHER WOMEN AND CHILD SUFFER AT THE HANDS OF A MAN OR BOY. This is directed to all men in our communities to take up your rightful place in society as the providers and protectors of our women and children.

And when I speak of providers, I most certainly do not refer to older men who provide to young girls material things in return for sexual favours. This is one of the worst kinds of abuses and we, as Government, women and men gathered here today reject this practice with the contempt and disgust it deserves.

On the matter of getting men more involved in the campaign I am pleased to announce that we have made significant progress. We have launched Men’s Forums in four of the five districts and will be launching the last one in John Taolo Gaetsewe District soon after the National Women’s Day event.

I wish to extend my gratitude to the MEC’s Pauline Williams and Father Gift van Staden from the Departments of Safety and Liaison and Social Development respectively and all the officials and organizations who worked very hard to have these Forums established and functioning.

It is only through the active participation of all stakeholders, especially the various communities, that we can win this battle. Gender Based Violence is not just a police issue, it is not just a social worker issue, it is not just a government issue and it is not just a woman issue. It affects all of us gathered today. The police cannot be everywhere at all time, but somewhere at any given time a member of the community is at a place where violence or any crime is committed. My plea therefore is that we work with the police and report these crimes and not just look the other way.

Ladies and gentlemen, this campaign we undertake will not only be launched and shelved. I pledge to ensure that we sustain this campaign throughout the year and I also commit that Government will walk with you hand in hand as partners to stop the violence. We will, if we work together reclaim our humanity, we will reclaim our dignity, we will reclaim our compassion for another, we will stop violence against our women and children and we will rid our community of drug peddlers and human traffickers.

We call on our church leaders, teachers, community leaders, students, parents, elders and every member of society to walk this path with us. We call on civil society and business to support all initiatives intent of fighting gender and sexual based violence.

Ladies and gentlemen, let those who inflict violence on others know they are being isolated and cannot count on other men or family to protect them. Let us today leave here committed and resolute to put an end to violence against one another. Let us leave here with a clear conscience that we cannot allow this to continue. And those of us who have made ourselves guilty of this hideous deeds, let us commit to change the ways of our people to become the human beings as God has intended us to be.

Let us continue to speak against this scourge of fear and violence and build on the successes and breakthroughs reached thus far. Let us continue to have “many voices, one message that says, “Not in my name: Together moving a non-violent South Africa forward!”

Let us one and all embrace and adopt the spirit of Ubuntu and live in peace with one another. It is said that men of quality do not fear equality- and therefore I plead to men all over to embrace women as not inferior, nor superior, but equal partners and beings deserving of our love, care and protection.

I thank you