SA is one of the countries with the highest rates of violence against women in the world – often a result of severe poverty and a lack of public services and infrastructure.
Past household surveys by the South African Medical Research Council found that as many as 40% of men had hit their partners, while one in four had raped a woman.
In the 2017-18 financial year, 177,620 crimes against women were reported to police, according to the annual SA Police Service report. That included 36,731 sexual offences and 2,930 murders – up 11% from the previous year.
Against the backdrop of these alarming statistics, with few solutions in sight, Women4Women, the non-profit organisation found by former Miss SA Cindy Nell-Roberts, has launched its “Blow the Whistle against Woman Abuse” campaign.
Women4Women is distributing whistles to women in less privileged communities that can be worn around the neck. Women are then encouraged to blow the whistle when in danger, and to listen out for whistles of other women who might be in such a situation.
The campaign also urges women and men alike to “blow the whistle” on men who abuse women. Read more here
