Going beyond the stats that scare when it comes to GBV, people are focusing on teaching the skills that save and give those in frightening situations the most powerful thing: choice.
Pretoria, South Africa (17 August, 2023) — While GBV is one of the most disheartening realities of the world, going beyond the stats that scare and into the skills that save, matters—as do the protectors who empower protectors. One recent effort of many in this world is the national Adoozy INpowered personal protection campaign, a response to the GBV crisis in the country which kicked off during Women’s Month by hosting its second workshop recently with women in Pretoria.
The workshop was free and set out to remind women in Pretoria (female students at the University of Pretoria) of their power with safety knowledge to know what to do when they feel threatened or if a predator were to approach.
But, the efforts of INpowered go beyond physical safety and traditional self-defence training (although teaching a critical life-saving defence skill is badass knowledge). It’s also about the mental aspect of power—another critical skill.
Mark Grobbelaar, the founder of Women INPowered (WIP) says:
“We structure the Adoozy INPowered workshop in such a way that the participants don’t only feel physically INPowered, but mentally too. There’s so much stigma around speaking up or feeling like there’s permission to hold your own space.”
Mark’s journey with Women InPowered began largely as a response to knowing Alison Botha and wrote his thesis “Girl Power-Self defence for women”, on her.
From 2012, WIP became his full time concern so that no woman would have to go through the same trauma Alison did by equipping them with easy to learn yet devastatingly effective self INpowerment knowledge that gives them choice in a threatening situation.
For students and women in Pretoria, safety is an on-going concern.
Captain Shongwe who heads up student safety and security at UP shares:
“While we do everything we can on campus to make the students feel safe, we know that there is a huge problem when it comes to gender-based violence in the community.
“We’ve put a reporting mechanism in place for UP students who are victims of GBV or harassment. They can report incidences through the transformation office which is accessible on their UP portal.”
A 6th Dan in Karate, Grobbelaar concludes:
“Over 13 000 women were victims of assault last year. This women’s month, we want to tell a different story. One that celebrates the strength of females and their courage to fight back. Enough is enough, that’s the story we want to tell.”
If you or someone you know has been a victim of GBV, please call the 24-hour Gender Based Violence National Commence Centre on 0800 428 428.
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