The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign will take place from 25 November to 10 December 2016. This year the campaign will be held under the theme: “Count Me In: Together Moving a Non-Violent South Africa Forward”.
Over the period government will convene a series of dialogues on violence against women and children to focus on the problem, discuss the causes and to find appropriate solutions. Through the dialogue sessions government will interact with community members who experience violence and abuse.
The dialogue sessions will be launched in Limpopo and then rolled out across the country. South Africans from rural areas to the urban settings, formal to informal settlements, professionals to business people and young people to the old can share their personal experiences.
The dialogue sessions respond to the NDP Vision for 2030 which emphasises “building safer communities through an integrated approach”. It also responds to several outcomes identified in the MTSF (2014 – 2019).
It is important that the 16 Days Campaign is not viewed as a stand-alone event. It is another leg of the #356DaysCampaign and #CountMeIn, which aims to mobilise members of society, especially men to join hands with government against child and women abuse.