MORE than 100 women turned out to hear a panel of professionals confront one of South Africa’s most urgent crises at the Wyebank Temple Hall recently.

This year’s Wyebank Women’s Forum’s annual Women’s Day Celebration’s programme built around the theme Give to Gain, addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in SA.

The Panel members included Dr Thilo Govender, Dr Santosh Kalyan, Dr Nirmala Reddy, Gill Harper and Roshika Maharaj, all professionals who travelled from across the country to mark the occasion with the community.

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Guests were captivated by the panel’s presentations, which laid bare the scale of GBV in SA, where thousands of women and children continue to experience rape, sexual assault and other forms of violent crime.

According to national crime statistics, an estimated 115 women are raped every day, amounting to close to 42 000 rapes a year. The murder rate is equally alarming, with three women killed by their partners daily.

The panel stressed that such violence is too often treated as a private matter, remaining invisible until it reaches crisis point, and that breaking the silence is key to preventing it. Guests were given the opportunity to engage directly with the panel members at the end of the presentations.

The Wyebank Women’s Forum thanked the community for its response to the invitation, describing the event as a resounding success.

“The Forum said it looks forward to hosting similar events to share solution-oriented information with the community in the future.

“This year everyone was glowing in their radiant shades of yellow which reflects joy, radiance, energy, sunshine, cheerfulness, optimism. All these bring a sense of positivity and a feeling of hope,” said Venessa Pillay, Wyebank Women’s Forum chairperson.

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