A demonstrator holds up a placard at the protest in Johannesburg against femicide and gender-based violence. Photo: LUCSA/Conne Boshielo
LUCSA Executive Secretary shares her survivor story as South Africa declares a ‘national disaster’
(LWI) - Members of the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA) were part of a nationwide women’s protest which led the South African government to declare femicide and gender-based violence as “a national disaster.” The 21 November demonstration saw thousands taking to the streets of cities across South Africa calling for justice, accountability and safety for all women and girls.
Coming just ahead of the 25 November international day for the elimination of violence against women and the start of the 16 Days of Activism campaign, the action was a stark reminder that the country has among the highest levels of sexual and gender-based violence in the world. Statistics from the South African Police Service show that some 15 women are victims of femicide every day, around five times higher than the global average.
“We need to realize that we are a very violent society, and as LUCSA, we work on providing alternatives to violence, helping people to choose non-violence instead,” says Rev. Lilana Kasper, the first female executive secretary of LUCSA which brings together 15 Lutheran churches in 10 countries across the region. A survivor of gender-based violence herself, Kasper has been central to the development of tools to educate and raise awareness, as well as supporting and empowering other survivors.
Rev. Lilana and other LUCSA members who attended the 21 November protest. Photo: LUCSA/Conne Boshielo
South Africa's parliament building in Pretoria with flags welcoming G20 leaders to the summit. Photo: LUCSA/Conne Boshielo
LUCSA members, including Rev. Lilana Kasper (far right) hold up a banner calling for an end to gender-based violence. Photo: LUCSA/Conne Boshielo
Fifteen years ago, Kasper joined a task force that her church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA), was setting up to respond to the scourge of sexual and gender-based violence. “From this task force, the project known as Lutheran Action against Gender-Based Violence was born, centered around providing pathways of support for people in abusive relationships,” she explains. “Many do not know how to name it, don’t know that it is a crime and have no one to turn to,” she says.
Kasper, a former chaplain with the South African Police Service, reflects on her own experience suffering at the hands of an abusive partner over two decades ago. “At that time, there was nobody I could speak to, I wasn’t sure who I could trust and I didn’t have the language to frame what was happening to me,” she recalls. “For four years, I was beaten, abused, almost killed, but back then there was not the same reporting of cases and I remember I was just trying to survive,” she recounts.
At seminary, she says, it was “a sense of shame” that stopped her from telling anyone about her plight. But later, at university in Pietermaritzburg, she found help in an unexpected place from a group of Catholic seminarians. “They offered me a safe space, encouraging me to find my voice and tell my story,” enabling her to seek the support she needed to recover from her ordeal.
Being afraid or ashamed of stigma makes the healing process much more difficult.
Rev. Lilana Kasper, executive secretary of the Lutheran Communion in Southeran Africa
For a long time, Kasper continued to find it hard to talk about the experience, worried about what people might think or say. “But we have to actively seek ways of dealing with trauma,” she insists “and being afraid or ashamed of stigma makes the healing process much more difficult.” Empowered by her own experience, she helped to develop a tool kit on trauma accompaniment for survivors, as well as training people to be first responders and providing the correct care pathways. ELCSA has trained a focal person in each of its seven dioceses, while LUCSA also provides training on a regional level too.
Today, Kasper is able to share her story, especially, she says, “in spaces where others can learn from it.” She joined the recent nationwide protest alongside many other LUCSA members who marched and staged a silent ‘lie-down’ in solidarity with all victims, as well as survivors, families and communities affected by gender-based violence.
The widespread protest, coordinated by the non-governmental organization Women for Change, was seen as a crucial moment in the national debate, with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledging the need for action ahead of the recent G20 summit that took place in Johannesburg. LUCSA says it “remains dedicated to using [our] voice and influence to ensure the president’s declaration leads to tangible action, real resources and meaningful change” to ensure safety and dignity for all people in South Africa.
LUCSA is one of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) sub-regions, and it includes four LWF member churches.
