5 Mid Mornings

Most people can talk, very few actually listen

Be The Voice GBV Foundation Joining us for a conversation about the power of silence and the organisation's expectations after the National Disaster was declared, founder of Be The Voice, Candice Engelbrecht sheds more light for survivors. We also explore the social media tools by the organisations for survivors to begin and continue the healing journey post-trauma.

Crime Prevention Social Worker at NICRO, Lwandile Makwenkwe joins us for a conversation about the programmes offered at the organisation. We get an understanding of the NICRO model and how the work being done in the ADAPT programme is directed towards adolescents and not adults struggling with addiction.

Advancing Children For Success's Christine Rudolph joins us for a conversation about the effects of GBV on adolescent girls. We also unpack the importance of sexual and reproductive health awareness and the effects of poverty, namely orphanhood and the gender disparity it creates.

In the 13th episode of "16 Days, 16 Voices" we hear from Constance in Tembisa. Her story begins with a husband who controlled her every move, refusing to let her go to work and accusing her of cheating whenever she did. One evening, after taking a taxi home from work, she was attacked and gang raped by seven strangers. She went home in shock and could not bring herself to speak. Instead of recogni...

Bonnie’s story begins when she was 9, in a home where the person meant to protect her became the source of her fear. After a run in with older boys in her neighbourhood, he dragged her by her hair and screamed at her. That moment was the beginning of a pattern. She grew up with insults thrown at her like they were normal, and with a hand striking her face whenever he lost control. The damage...

Promise represents many women in South Africa whose childhoods were marked by abuse they could not name at the time. In the story, she is harmed by a family member and grows up carrying the weight of it alone. Years later an outreach worker from POWA visits her community, opening a door she never had before. Through counseling sessions she finally spoke out about how she was groomed, harmed, and t...

In the 16th episode of "16 Days, 16 Voices" we hear from Balisa. Her story, like so many others, begins with a controlling and abusive relationship. Her partner tried to dictate every part of her life, from where she worked to how she grieved a loss in her family. Tensions escalated and in a moment of unimaginable violence, she was shot in the eye and left unconscious, sustaining life‑changing inj...

Expanding our understanding of vulnerable children to include tertiary students, CEO Palesa Matuludi speaks on how the organisation is supporting them as a part of the vulnerable youth. Palesa further elaborates on the use of sport as a means to instill positive life values and promote well-being.

What is the sexiest job?

If you had the ability to erase bad memories, would you do it? Or do you think bad memories make up who we are?

In the 14th episode of 16 Days, 16 Voices we hear how Jes Foord is out walking with her father in Kwa Zulu Natal when 5 armed men held them up. They tied her father to a tree and threw her into a ditch where she was gang raped. When the attackers fled, she had to find the strength to report what happened. At the police station she's told there is no private room available, so she waits in the...

What would your younger self not believe about your life today

Michaela van Nierop shares a story that begins in her 1st year of university, when a night out with friends ended in her being drugged, abducted, and taken to a BnB where she was raped. She was a virgin with a strict Catholic upbringing, carrying shame that was never hers to carry. Years later she met someone online and was raped again. Like so many women featured in "16 Voices", the justice syste...

This 16 Days of Activism, Impilo Collection Foundation's founder, Angela Yeung brings a conversation about period poverty to the airwaves. We learn about the organisation's EmpowerHer initiative and the symbolic display of bras at Constitution Hill.

The key to happiness is confidence.

What are some of the qualities that make someone popular?

In the 10th episode of 16 Days, 16 Voices we hear from Merlize Jogiat. She is a survivor of gender based violence and now works as the Advocacy and Operations Coordinator for Woman For Change. Her story began in a home where her father used violence and fear as discipline, shaping her earliest understanding of love and authority. As an adult she entered a marriage where the cycle continued. She an...

In the 9th episode of 16 Days, 16 Voices we hear from a survivor who can't share her name because the violence she lived through still threatens her safety. She was on set to film a gospel music video when a group of men armed with guns and knives stormed in. They dragged her and her friends into the bushes and gang raped them repeatedly, she was four months pregnant at the time. She did everythin...

3 December is International Day of Persons with Disabilities and Michel'le Donnelly joins us for a conversation about inclusivity and how communities can observe this day. She also tells us about the efforts of the organisation to fight for the rights of persons with disabilities and how we can look after our mental health as we approach the new year.

What are the things you need to experience to be a true South African?

In the 8th edition of 16 Days, 16 Voices we hear from Bulelwa Adonis. She is a psychology student and former Woman for Change spokesperson who has used her own experience to fuel her activism. Bulelwa has been a driving force in calls to recognise GBV as a national emergency, lending her voice to push for real change.

You can love someone and still not like them!

⁠If you could instantly become an expert in any field, which one would you choose and why?

In the 7th episode of 16 Days, 16 Voices we hear from Leyonie Marais, the author of the book "Dethrone the Rapist". Her experiences with gender‑based violence (GBV) started at the age of 5. Having been assaulted six times by six different men, she turned her terrifying ordeal into fuel for healing and advocacy. Rather than disappear into silence, Leyonie reclaimed her story, not just for hers...