Social media, a weapon to help fight against gender-based violence
FXI is a non-profit organisation based in Johannesburg and it promotes and advances the right to freedom of expression, access to information and also opposes censorship.
Tsakane – The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) held a workshop on Tuesday at the Faranani Multipurpose Centre.
The purpose of the workshop was to bring the community together to try to come up with creative solutions to end gender-based violence, using social media platforms.
FXI is a non-profit organisation based in Johannesburg and it promotes and advances the right to freedom of expression, access to information and also opposes censorship.
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Executive director of FXI Samkelo Mokhine says it is important for organisations to make use of social media so that people can easily find the information they need.
“Social media is a very powerful tool. What we want to do is to get organisations which deal with gender-based violence to make use of these platforms so people in need can easily reach them and get the information they need.
“For example, let’s say a woman has just been beaten by her partner and she hasn’t decided whether to lay charges or not, where does she go to seek shelter?
“Imagine if she could just log into her social media account, such as Facebook and find the relevant information,” says Mokhine.
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Founder of Kwatsaduza Online Sandile Mlangeni was one of the panellists who added that social media can either play a negative or positive role when it comes to ending gender-based violence in the country.
“I believe that social media can either build or break our community. It has become so influential and if we changed our negative perception surrounding it, we can really see those advantageous benefits it offers.
I think the initiative is really great because people can have quick access to information in time of need,” says Mlangeni.
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