The municipality’s SMURF goal is to reach 5,000 learners and students across schools and TVET colleges with information about gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), reporting options and available support services. Rather than trying to reach every resident across the municipality, the team chose education spaces where they could engage large numbers of young people through structured programmes. This decision also recognises that schools are the places where young people spend a significant part of their day and where trusted adults may notice changes in behaviour or receive disclosures that might not happen elsewhere.
Bringing the right organisations together
Reaching 5,000 learners also depends on having the right organisations involved when someone needs assistance. For this reason, the municipality has assembled a team of around 30 representatives from local and district government, SAPS, the Departments of Social Development, Health, Education, Justice, Legal Aid South Africa, community organisations, youth structures and local development partners.
Research on coordinated responses to GBVF has shown that people are more likely to receive appropriate support when organisations understand each other’s roles and can respond together. A teacher may recognise that something is wrong, but another service may be responsible for counselling, another for investigation and another for legal assistance. Bringing these organisations together before cases arise helps reduce delays and uncertainty when support is needed.
Organising the work
To organise its work, the team has divided the challenge into three phases. The first focuses on awareness and establishing relationships with schools and partner organisations. The second expands these efforts into community activities, while the final phase reviews what has been achieved and where further work is needed beyond the 100 days.
Activities planned across the municipality
The activities planned reflect this approach. Team members will continue visiting schools and TVET colleges, participate in community events, host sports activities for young people during school holidays and use occasions such as Women’s Month, career exhibitions and Heritage Month to continue conversations about GBVF. These activities are intended to help young people understand where support is available while strengthening relationships between communities and the organisations responsible for responding.
Looking beyond the challenge
By concentrating on schools, building relationships between services and creating opportunities for young people to ask questions and seek support, the team is working towards a stronger local response that can continue after the 100-Day Challenge has ended.
Dr Beyers Naudé Municipality