The newsletter is designed as a broadsheet newspaper that will report on 360 incidents of domestic and sexual violence in South Africa – aiming to highlight the prevalence of gender-based violence in the country.

The Daily Abuse aims to tell real human stories. Instead of focusing solely on statistics, academic reports and numbers, each article aims to tell the stories of victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse, how others have overcome the cycle, details of those who got out when it was already too late and the frequency of physical and sexual assaults across all levels of society.

According to POWA, an average of 360 incidences of physical and sexual abuse against women take place in South Africa daily. This means that a woman is physically abused every four minutes.

Reporting on the 360 incidences, which could have taken place on one day, Human Rights Day, The Daily Abuse aims to bring this number to life for readers through articles that have been built around real statistics and incidents of violence reported in South Africa.

Although the names and key facts have been altered, the central message remains: 'whilst global awareness and activism campaigns such as 16 Days of Activism and International Women’s Day create platforms to drive conversations and action, individuals cannot afford to forget that abuse is a daily occurrence that has become pervasive in South African society'.

Nhlanhla Mokwena, executive director of POWA, says that The Daily Abuse is a reminder that South Africans cannot afford to be complacent or fatigued about the issue of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Mokwena adds, "There are people who’ve opted for apathy, indifference and even victim-shaming when hearing about domestic violence. South Africans need to ask [themselves]: if we as a nation say we are tired of hearing about it, imagine those who are living with it every day?" 

"The Daily Abuse is a publication that will bring attention and remind us all that domestic violence and sexual abuse is indeed a crisis that needs us all to be active citizens in curbing its prevalence," Mokwena says. 

"We can no longer be complacent and then shocked into action with one horrific act of abuse that makes headlines. What about the other 359 victims we are leaving behind daily? This publication will remind us of how pervasive gender-based violence is so that we, as a country, work towards a time where The Daily Abuse will no longer have incidents to report," adds Mokwena.

The Daily Abuse is an initiative that will aim to give the South African public:
  • 360 reasons to read and understand the faces of domestic violence and sexual abuse – beyond the numbers in academic papers and crime reports,
  • 360 proof points on why South Africans should be more outraged on the issues of gender-based violence and sexual abuse, and
  • 360 reminders that individuals need to stop turning the page on abuse.

The broadsheet will be distributed across Gauteng, selected areas in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.

For more information, follow POWA on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.  

*Image courtesy of POWA