POWA ad goes viral

About the POWA video

A man in his apartment was playing drums very loud at night. Neighbours and residents across the complex went to knock at the door to complain about the drumming noise, telling him that he can’t be doing this in the middle of the complex; “it’s such a noise; ”they can hear every single bit”, they complained.

At the same complex, a different night, a recorded audio clip was played of a man and a woman fighting. In the audio the man started beating the woman, she was screaming very loud. The audio sounded as if the “beating” was real. The noise was as loud as that of the drumming the previous night, but none of the residents came to knock at the door to complain about the noise or try to “help the woman being beaten”.

This video confirms the fact that we are still treating domestic violence as a private matter. Tyiso says the response they have had so far is that people liked the video because it sends out a powerful message. “Most people agree that what was portrayed in the video is something that happens in our communities” said Tyiso. She adds that what the video tried to portray is that people take domestic violence as a “private matter” and will not interfere in such cases.

Using ICTs to widen our reach and network

In the meantime POWA is maximizing the use of ICT’s to widen their reach and ensure that their services reach beyond Gauteng province. Through powerful medium such as the internet and television, they are echoing the message to end Gender Based Violence and give support to victims of Gender Based Violence.

Tyiso was excited to talk about one of POWA’s very successful campaign. POWA was approached by one of the most popular television soapie in the country, Generations. The campaign did not only generate publicity for POWA, but it also helped a lot of people in abusive relationship or those who knew someone could use such help. This gave POWA an opportunity to communicate its message of anti-violence against women to millions of people across the country. Tyiso tells us that because of the campaign, a lot of people from all over South Africa still phone POWA seeking help, acknowledging the problems that were portrayed and wanting to help. The campaign also led to collaboration with Sonke Gender Justice Network.

The challenge facing POWA is that they are only based in Johannesburg; therefore it is difficult for people from other provinces seeking face-to face counseling to get help. However POWA is looking into expanding to other provinces, and they are open to collaborating with like-minded organisations