Media release – In its online campaign for International Women’s Day 2021, terre des hommes schweiz is focusing on the work of LifeLine. The South African partner organization supports and accompanies girls and women who have survived sexual violence. In the big Media interview the Head of Programs at terre des hommes schweiz, Gabriela Wichser, explains the connection between gender-based violence, poverty and the corona crisis, which is increasing inequality between the North and the South.
For this year’s International Women’s Day on 8 March 2021, terre des hommes schweiz is calling for an end to gender-based violence against women and girls. terre des hommes schweiz is focusing on the work of its South African partner organization LifeLine. LifeLine supports and accompanies girls and young women in KwaZulu-Natal who have been raped or have experienced other forms of sexual violence. In a short video, terre des hommes schweiz presents the work of LifeLine and a survivor in LifeLine’s counseling program tells her terrible story.
Even more cases of sexual violence in South Africa
South Africa is considered to have one of the highest rape rates in the world. According to the South African Police Service (SAPS) crime statistics, 53,293 sexual assaults were recorded between April 2019 and March 2020, including 42,289 rapes. 18 231 of the reported rapes took place in private homes, 7 940 in public places. Non-profit organizations emphasize that only one in nine women report the sexual assault to the authorities. It can therefore be assumed that the real number of sexual assaults is much higher.
And it is increasing: everything points to more cases of sexual violence in South Africa during the coronavirus crisis. “LifeLine’s counseling program for survivors and its services for the communities have been requested much more frequently since the start of the pandemic and the staff are extremely busy,” says Gabriela Wichser, Head of Programs at terre des hommes schweiz, in a major media interview on International Women’s Day. Many different factors contribute to the high rate of gender-based violence in South Africa, she explains: “Cultural values and a patriarchal society in which women are worth less and men define themselves through a macho self-image play a central role,” says Gabriela Wichser. “The trial of strength is still the be-all and end-all of South African masculinity.”
Poverty, sexual violence and the health crisis
Other relevant factors are the lack of prospects for the many people in the global South who live in poverty, continues Gabriela Wichser: “Men who don’t have the means to feed their families sufficiently and who can’t afford to send their children to school are seen as failures – and they feel like failures. They do not live up to the internalized image of the all-powerful head of the family and feel worthless. Their undignified state leads to great frustration and the response is often an outbreak of violence, usually within their own family.”
“Corona is widening the gap between rich and poor,” says Gabriela Wichser. “People living in poverty are more often affected by violence and people who are vulnerable or living in a precarious situation are driven even further into poverty during the coronavirus crisis. So there is a link between poverty, violence and the health crisis.”
“Our view is far too small-scale”
Gabriela Wichser criticizes the uneven distribution of the coronavirus vaccine. “Many countries in Europe secured vaccine doses at a very early stage,” she explains. “However, we are now also experiencing a shortage and in Switzerland we are considering how we can move vaccine back and forth between the cantons. “Our view is far too small-scale. We won’t get this virus under control if we don’t give everyone access to a vaccine,” says Gabriela Wichser from terre des hommes schweiz. “The coronavirus and the current availability of vaccines are perfect examples of what it’s all about: there is only one world and we share it.”
Cross-cutting issue of gender at terre des hommes schweiz
“Gender must not be an isolated issue,” says Gabriela Wichser from terre des hommes schweiz in a major media interview on International Women’s Day on March 8, 2021. Gender is a cross-cutting issue in the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The aim of this holistic approach, also known as gender mainstreaming, is to ensure that women and men, or girls and boys, have equal rights in all areas of life, regardless of gender, origin or social status.
The systematic inclusion of the gender perspective has been a major concern of terre des hommes schweiz for over 60 years. Equal rights and opportunities for female and male young people in their social environment is relevant to all areas of activity at terre des hommes schweiz.
Left:
Media interview with Gabriela Wichser: https://terredeshommesschweiz.ch/interview-weltfrauentag-2021
Campaign website for International Women’s Day 2021: https://www.terredeshommesschweiz.ch/gewalt-an-frauen
LifeLine in profile and the interview with Tayson Mudarikiri, National Coordinator for Zimbabwe and South Africa: https://www.terredeshommesschweiz.ch/magazin
