Collective action needed to fight women and child abuse

VIOLENCE against women and children clearly demonstrates to what extent we as a society has been stripped of our humanity and dignity, and substituted it with greed and cruelty.

Walking free in the streets and watching children playing safely in open spaces used to be one of the most cherished human rights.

But the time of innocence has finally been lost it seems.

In South Africa 70 per cent of women face physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

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Some spend their last days in desperate attempts to free themselves from the clutches of their abusers, fruitlessly seeking justice for the crimes committed against them.

Others simply remain silent and hide behind their pain.

We live in a society where women are turned into modern-day slaves, exposed to all sorts of physical and emotional torture.

With policy makers, law enforcement agencies and civil society dismally failing to intervene and protecting women and vulnerable children, the numbers grow every day.

So many of us have forgotten true kindness and selfless love.

When we do show kindness, we always expect something in return.

We all know we have to do much more to respond to the cries of justice for women and children who suffer.

We all have the responsibility to do more to end these horrible abuses.

The time is now. We can’t just go on hoping that one day we will find an angel to sort things out. We are the angels.