Cape Town - As festivities rang in the new year on Monday, anti-gender-based violence activist Reverend June Dolley-Major held a special “Remember Me” ceremony in honour of those who lost their lives to violence.
“There’s so much celebration around this period, but there is also a lot of pain with so many people having lost a loved one to violent murders.
These people are no longer here, but they have families who were left behind and they were a person who deserves to be remembered.”
The event was held at the Groote Kerk in Adderley Street on Monday and saw many families make known the names of their dead loved ones as well as the stories of how they died.
Their names and some stories were shared with attendees in person and via live stream on social media, after which a prayer was conducted by Reverend Riaan de Villiers.
“One of the most recent stories shared was of a Soweto mom murdered by her husband,” Dolley-Major said.
“She divorced him in November because of abuse, but the magistrates said he could live in the house until January 24. Then on Christmas day, he stabbed her 12 to 14 times in front of her child.
This is the reality we are facing, but we do not hear about all these stories. How can you put a man back in a house where you know there is abuse? Our justice system is too lenient,” she said.
Dolley-Major said she did not expect so many names and stories on the day, but it was evidence more investment was needed in counselling services so society could heal.
“The sad reality is that we’ve become desensitised to violence. There is no anger management, no counselling, so we don’t deal with it.
Children model the behaviour of adults, so we need to start at the grass-roots level to change this culture of violence.”
This year Dolley-Major plans to offer training workshops in coping mechanisms. Call 061 495 3267.
Cape Times