The 16 Days of Activism - 2017

The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children is an international awareness-raising campaign. It takes place every year from 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to 10 December (International Human Rights Day). The period includes Universal Children’s Day and World AIDS Day (01 December).
South Africa adopted the campaign in 1998 as one of the intervention strategies towards creating a society free of violence. The campaign continues to raise awareness amongst South Africans about the negative impact of violence against women and children on all members of the community.
At the launch of the 16 Days Campaign on 25 of November 2014, President Jacob Zuma said that activism against gender-based violence should be a yearlong campaign and not limited to 16 days. The Department of Women heeded the President’s call and launched the “365 Days for No Violence Against Women and Children” (#365DaysCampaign) and “#CountMeIn.”
Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (the Fund) is an advocacy development agency and a leading champion for the general well-being of children founded in 1995 by the former statesman Mr. Nelson Mandela. The Fund’s mandate is to address issues that affect children and youth, particularly those living in disadvantaged situations that place them in vulnerable circumstances. The Fund’s advocacy work directs it to make input into legislative and public policy development with impact on children’s well-being by changing the way society treats its children and youth, through its five year programmes.
The nature of the challenges facing the children and youth continues to change from time to time. As a learning organisation, Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund builds sustainable partnerships in pursuance of its vision.
The 2016-2021 Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund strategy themed “the Legacy lives on – building a strong foundation for children” has its focus on the programmatic focus areas which have been clustered into three overarching themes for interventions; Child Survival and Development, Child Safety and Protection, Youth Leadership.
Violence against women and children impacts on every aspect of life in South Africa. There are different forms of abuse that women and children my experience which includes emotional abuse, physical abuse, rape, sexual harassment, child abuse and financial abuse.
The 16 Days of Activism accelerates the work that the Fund is doing in various communities which aim to curb the abuse of women and children.
Some people are not well educated about crimes against women and children 16 Days of Activism and Women’s Month allow us to create awareness and the space people to have such discussions.
The 16 Days of Activism is a worldwide campaign opposing violence against women and children, with the aim of raising awareness of the negative impact violence and abuse have on women and children and society as a whole.