Cape Town - A community panel discussion over the weekend focused on gender-based violence affecting marginalised and migrant communities.
The interactive dialogue, which included shared personal accounts from survivors, was hosted by Africa Unite’s migrant women’s programme, Tusimame Wanawake, at its office in Spin Street in the CBD on Saturday.
Organisations present included Village of Hope, Nyanga Men Empowerment, Kwesu, and iThemba Walkway.
Tusimame Wanawake (Stand Up Women in Swahili) coordinator, Tolulola George, said migrant communities were marginalised as they faced secondary victimisation, or were afraid to report an offence to police or law enforcement due to lack of documentation and fear of deportation, or not being believed by the authorities.
“Many of the African migrant communities also have a culture of silence because we are bound by our cultural beliefs, we are bound by our religious beliefs, we are afraid of losing our community support, so we don’t speak out when there is gender-based violence going on because once you want to approach the law enforcement, everybody says no, because we know the implications of what will happen.
“And we don't want any more trouble than what we are already facing but there is usually a silent victim somewhere.”
She said a series of approximately 30 workshops were held in various communities in Gauteng and the Western Cape. At the end of the discussion, recommendations on mitigating solutions were collated from attendees.
George said places such as Thuthuzela Care Centres offered support to victims without requiring documentation.
Knowledge Marongedza, originally from Zimbabwe, has been residing in Cape Town for five years. His presence there was as an artist whose works correlates with the topic, but also as someone directly impacted by gender-based violence.
Marongedza witnessed violence in his home since he was a toddler and due to the frequency of the abuse, had thought of it as a norm.
The most traumatic memory he shared was of his father, a policeman, beating and handcuffing his mother in a locked room when they were living at Marongedza’s grandmother’s home.
He said the dialogue allowed people to voice hard to understand feelings and assist those trying to get out of a violent situation.
Survivor Alphosine Ndaya, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said: “Most women, when they come here, for them to get their papers, which is status or refugee permit, it is under their husbands and if their husband is abusive, he’s going to use that; and if you tell him that we are going to have to separate, he is going to Home Affairs and cut you off and then you remain undocumented.”
She said this made it difficult for migrant women to leave abusive situations, as it then restricted them from earning a living.
Cape Argus