GirlUp Bulawayo hosts online anti-GBV campaign

Musawenkosi Moyo

IN observance of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, GirlUp Bulawayo hosted a six-day online campaign to raise awareness of the scourge and provide support to victims.

The organisation was founded in 2022 to empower girls in the community and was recently nominated for this year’s Africa Influencer Awards under the community service category. The online campaign was hosted under the theme “Come Together Act Now.”

The campaign had over 180 participants and guest speakers including Sibongumusa Ncube, Leeroy Mpofu and Ntando Sibanda, who are part of a network actively working to end gender-based violence in the country.

In an interview, GirlUp Bulawayo vice president, Marcia Hove, said that the campaign was hosted to address a number of key topics including the role of men in ending gender-based violence, legal framework surrounding gender-based violence and how to support survivors among other things.

She said it was important to raise awareness of gender-based violence as it is part of the GirlUp Bulawayo mandate.

“This campaign is crucial as it aligns with our vision of creating a violence-free society. It allows us to contribute to a safer and more informed community, which is essential for social progress,” said Hove.

She said they were motivated to host a virtual campaign because they understand that many young people are now living in the virtual community, and they wanted to reach as many of them as possible.

“The virtual campaign was launched with an effort to promote the inclusion of young people in conversation involving gender-based violence in the community and beyond,” said Hove.

She said such campaigns are important to the community as they not only raise awareness but also provide practical knowledge on gender-based violence and empower communities to take action and support survivors actively.

Lubelihle Audrey the president of the organisation urged communities to come together and fight against gender-based violence.

“We urge communities to unite and take collective action, recognise the signs of gender-based violence, support survivors, challenge harmful norms and advocate for a violence-free society.

Looking into the future she said as an organisation they plan to host a male-led online campaign to engage men in conversations about gender-based violence advocacy.