Brand South Africa continuously aims to encourage all South Africans to play their part towards progressive change, that promotes a free and fair society for all, through the #IAM campaign.
In the State of the Nation Address, President Ramaphosa, emphasized the importance of a collective responsibility as a nation, as the people of South Africa to work to end the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide.
“Government will lead the campaign to include men and boys as active champions in the struggle against gender-based violence. As government we continue to roll-out interventions to address social ills tearing our communities apart”, said President Ramaphosa.
Brand South Africa’s General Manager for Marketing, Ms Sithembile Ntombela said, “This epidemic has been reoccurring and refuses to go away. Brand South Africa has committed itself to continue with a campaign that acts as a reminder that this is not who we are as South Africa. This behaviour does not represent our ethos as a nation built on the values of Ubuntu”.
The purpose of the #IAM campaign is to;
- Encourage all South Africans to be active participants in the fight to eradicate violence against women and children.
- Expand accountability beyond the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster to include all the citizens of the country.
- Combine technology, social media, the arts, journalism, religion, culture and customs, business and activism to draw attention to the many ways violence against women and children affects the lives of all people in all communities around the world.
- Ensure mass mobilisation of all communities to promote collective responsibility in the fight to eradicate violence against women and children.
- Encourage society to acknowledge that violence against women and children is NOT a government or criminal justice system problem, but a societal problem, and that failure to view it as such results in all efforts failing to eradicate this scourge in our communities.
- Emphasise the fact that the solution lies with all of us.
“We have recently seen men uniting in one voice to break the silence and showing unity in the fight for protecting women and children, for instance, the #NOTINMYNAME movement. We commend these men for taking charge. This is why Brand South Africa found it important to support this campaign and charge men with the responsibility of their role in protecting their loved ones”, adds Ms Ntombela
The campaign calls on men of diverse ethnicity to participate. Filmed with individuals in black t-shirts, wearing red lipstick with the words #IAM highlighting their role of protecting women and children.
“Once again, this campaign did not end with 16 Days of Activism against gender based violence, it is an everyday reality that we need to face and mobilize community members, men and women to take a stand and report, stop abuse whether it is emotional, physical or sexual. Let us all have a voice against this social ill and construct a nation that is peaceful and unified” concludes Ms Ntombela
The #IAM campaign videos will also air on television screens and to participate in discussion follow #IAM and @Brand_SA @PlayYourPartSA on social media platforms.
Call the Stop Gender-Based Violence helpline (0800 150 150).
