Fellow: Joyce Msomi

Grant Year: 2020

Location: Inanda, Ntuzuma, and KwaMashu Area, eThekwini Municipality, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa

Organization: Ukukhanya Kwesizwe Community Development (UKCD)

Project title: Asikhulume (Let Us Talk)

Project summary: Through Asikshukume or “Let Us Talk,” Ukukhanya Kwesizwe Community Development (UKCD) will improve access to care for survivors of sexual violence in South Africa’s Inanda, Ntuzuma, and KwaMashu (INK) area, which has one of the highest rates of poverty and sexual violence in the nation. The eThekwini municipality struggles to address rapidly growing incidences of rape with only two Thuthuzela Care Centers.

In order to better address cases of sexual violence against women, UKCD is advocating for a formal commitment from the head of the Social Development Department in eThekwini to establish a Thuthuzela Care Center in the INK area by October 2021. UKCD will also advocate for the Social Development Department to work hand in hand with the civil society and recommit themselves to better delivery of services to survivors in the eThekwini Municipality. If successful in their advocacy, UKCD will improve access to judgment-free, quality care for survivors of sexual violence benefiting 100,000 women and girls in the INK area.