VEREENIGING.- Community members must rise and speak out until the violence finally ends.

This powerful message rang out at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) Amphitheatre during a recent gathering.

Organised by the university’s Student Affairs Department and the SRC, the event took place in the wake of horrific killings of women in the east of Gauteng, while also remembering 14 former VUT students whose lives were tragically cut short by violence.

Students, staff and community leaders dressed in black, pinned purple ribbons to their shirts and draped bold purple scarves around their necks in a powerful display of solidarity.

A silent march moved from the Desmond Tutu Hall on campus to the Amphitheatre, carrying grief alongside a collective plea for action, justice and a future where women and girls can live without fear.

Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) Executive Mayor, Hassan Mako, joined the procession to add his voice to the call for an end to gender-based violence.

“Their names and memories served as a painful reminder that gender-based violence is not an abstract crisis; it is a reality that has taken daughters, sisters, friends, students and members of our communities,” he said.