2019's 16 (Murderous) Days Of Activism

Now that the annual 16 Days of Activism campaign has come to a close, it is fair to reflect on the last sixteen days. At the beginning of the campaign, Wise 4 Afrika debuted the second half of their #wiseConsent campaign. Their goal was to centre the concept of "consent" into the exercise of advocacy against the scourge against women and children. 

The idea of #wiseConsent is to centre the action of asking for and giving consent to any kind of sexual or physical contact. More so than this, it was announced at the start of 16 Days of Activism to ensure that society remembers how consent needs to be remembered all 365 days of the year. However, unfortunately, this year, the campaign was marred by a daily reminder of gender-based violence in South Africa. Every day, online internet users were greeted by a hashtag prefixed with RIP in remembrance of yet another woman who was killed by a man. 

For these women, there was no option to get police assistance or to report the crime, as the crimes committed against them ended in their deaths. However, the fight to end GBV cannot be in vain. All that we can do, we must do, from reporting to marching, lobbying and more.

#16DaysOfSlaughter is how South African men have responded to #16DaysofActivism against gender based violence @PresidencyZA @PresidencyZA @AfroDiva @PajMadam pic.twitter.com/jAMgLokOmM

— WISE4Afrika #FeministsAtWork #FixingTheCountry (@Wise4Afrika) December 5, 2019