My sincerest apologies for this website being down for so long. It'll be updated shortly with more current information from Women of Vision...
Women of Vision (NPO 008-662) is a welfare organisation that helps abused women & abused children in Westbury, Johannesburg and surrounding areas. Westbury has been likened to the Cape Flats with it's problems of domestic violence, gang violence, drug abuse and high levels of teenage pregnancy. Sophie Boyers, the Executive Director, specifically assists people with peer counselling, rape counselling, old age pension, welfare grants, and more. Women of Vision run various outreach projects and community development is high on the agenda.
Christmas Party
Every year we have a Christmas Party for the children at Dorcas Crèche in Westbury, Johannesburg. This year the party will take place on Saturday, 18 December, at the Community Hall, next door to Dorcas Crèche. If you would like to support us by making any contribution financially or otherwise please contact Sophie Okeke on 082 753 0144. Any presents, food or drinks would mean so much to us, and more so to the children.
News
Women urged to interact online
Women are being urged to participate in the upcoming Cyber Dialogues, which makes use of ICT to create an opportunity to conduct sustained campaigns against gender violence. “The Cyber Dialogues, themed ‘Peace begins at home – unite against violence and HIV/AIDS' is scheduled from 24 November to 10 December,” says Gender Links deputy director Kubi Rama. “A central hub at national level will be used to combine facilitated interactive dialogues where experts and decision-makers will be available from noon to 1pm daily, to answer questions in a live chat room,” says Rama. “The idea is to harness communication capacity within IT, particularly encouraging women to speak out against violence and abuse. “The reality is that a number of people living in impoverished rural areas do not have access to IT infrastructure.” However, she adds that Cyber Dialogues will endeavour to link people, including rural women, through multipurpose community centres, facilitating discussions at a community level. “During the 16-day campaign, Gender Links will have in place a bulletin board where individuals can post messages, as well as a video link-up between all those who participate in the last day of the campaign,” says Rama. Cyber Dialogues is coordinated by Southern African Gender and Media Networks led by Gender Links, in partnership with Government Communication and Information Systems.
Rape has become a way of life in South Africa
September 26 2004 at 07:17AM
By Charlene Smith
Police reported this week that they were achieving success in combating most crimes, but not rape. Jackie Selebi, the national police commissioner, said there were 115,3 cases per 100 000 people in 1994, compared with 113,7 in 2003/04.
Selebi said rape statistics might be exaggerated because many rape cases were reported on a Friday and Saturday night, only to be withdrawn on a Monday.
It's the withdrawal of cases that bears closer examination, because it says nothing about women "lying" about rape as the ignorant might believe, but it says everything about a society that fails women and children and is allowing HIV/Aids to proliferate without check. 75 percent of rape in South Africa is gang rape