Communities stand against GBV in Shelly Beach
Hundreds of people took part in the GBV walk from Shelly Centre to St Michael's Beach last Friday.
The South Coast community showed up in their numbers bringing women, men and children together for a peaceful walk from Shelly Centre to St Michael’s Beach last Friday, in support of Women for Change and the G20 Women’s Shutdown movement.
People wore black and purple, carried placards, chanted, and stood united against the violence that so many women face daily.
Local businesses joined in including Shelly Centre, Bates Motors Shelly Beach, Mahindra MMG South Coast, Wolf Security, and several others which donated water, attended the walk or followed in their vehicles.
Venessa Murray organiser of the walk said: “We ended the walk with a 15 minutes of silence, representing the 15 women murdered every day in South Africa. Participants then signed a large canvas that will be kept as a symbol of our community’s commitment to ending gender-based violence (GBV). It’s not just a statistic – it’s a national emergency. South Africa has a femicide rate six times higher than the global average, and more than 5500 women were murdered in a single year. We cannot normalise this, we cannot look away.”
The walk was not a protest of anger, but a stand of unity and a reminder that women refuse to be silent. It was a declaration that the South Coast community will not accept the continued violence against women, children and the LGBTQIA+ community.
“The government has acknowledged GBV as a crisis, but a declaration means nothing without real, measurable action. We will continue to show up, speak up and demand accountability because everyone deserves safety, justice and freedom. Enough is enough.”
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