'16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence' is an international campaign that aims to challenge violence against women and children. This year, it launched on Sunday, 25 November and will run until Monday, 10 December.
The campaign encompasses 16 positive stories of women and children found or assisted by MCSA that will be shared daily on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in an aim to raise awareness and drive funds. Each story is based on a true experience and allows the viewer to learn tips on how to keep themselves and their children safe.
MCSA was established in 2007 in an effort to assist and support families whose children or loved ones have gone missing. They work closely with the South African Police Service in finding people and creating national awareness.
Bianca van Aswegen, national coordinator at MCSA, says, "Our mission is to give parents and guardians the skills they need to keep themselves and their children safe – like what to look out for and simple daily activities that could assist in the recovery of a child."
"For example, always have an updated photograph of your child available, and take note of what they are wearing when you go out into a public space. We would like to see the 77% recovery stat increase to 100%. But we also want parents to understand that time is of the essence."
MCSA is calling on South Africans to get involved by sharing the daily posts with their networks and donating R25 by SMSing the word ‘MCSA’ to 41006.
For more information, visit www.missingchildren.org.za. You can also follow MCSA on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.