The lunch, hosted in line with 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children aimed to educate the community of Ga-rankuwa and surrounding townships on issues of abuse, how it is identified and how to access help.

Diale, a trusted voice among fans of Relate and a survivor of abuse in her childhood and at the hands of her husband stated “Abuse of Women and Children affects all of us; it is a disease that destroys families and society. More often than not the abusers, criminals and murderers are victims of abuse and they hurt, inflict pain and abuse others because it is what they know”

Diale insisted that society must take care and give necessary attention to the abuser as well as the abused in order to root out and effectively curb abuse in homes and communities. She also spoke about the issue of counseling being a stumbling block towards healing and curbing abuse, because “our black communities have a negative attitude towards counseling, they do not see it as a tool to cure but as admission and confirmation of being mentally unstable or crazy for that matter.”

The emphasis of her talk was that victims and survivors need to talk about abuse because talking is the first and best step towards healing and overcoming abuse, she says “even if it means speaking to a stranger; men and women must stop hiding and talk. Ngwana o a sa lleng, o swela tharing! In other words if you don’t seek help you will not find help and you will suffer in silence.”

The Lunch against Abuse of Women and Children was initiated and hosted by Bontlebame, an organisation that dedicates its efforts towards educating about abuse and its impact on victims and strives to empower disadvantaged women to see life beyond their current circumstances and most importantly equip them to exit those circumstances when it becomes necessary. Letang Tlome, previous Coca Cola Pop Star winner graced the guests with her signing.

“The lunch was attended by women from all walks of life; it was encouraging to see the number of men in the audience increase as the event proceeded. The lunch was the second of its kind to be hosted by Bontlebame; the inaugural event was the ‘1st Dinner against Abuse of Women and Children’ successfully hosted in 2010. This time around, we chose to host a lunch in a township believing the message will reach and impact on a broader audience, an audience that would otherwise not have the opportunity to meet, learn, share experiences and become empowered to change their lives” explained Kea Modise-Moloto founder of Bontlebame.

“We have to make a commitment and exert effort towards curbing abuse of the vulnerable in order to instigate change, the sad result of abuse is that it lives long after the action and the moment, it affects more than the abused and cripples others for life. When I use the word cripple, I refer to emotional, mental and physical crippling. So, if we all look away and keep quiet, how is change going to come?” asked Modise-Moloto in her closing remarks.

Further information on curbing abuse of the vulnerable is available on www.bontlebame.com.