Gender-based violence and femicide remain among South Africa’s most urgent human rights crises, cutting across age, geography and income and leaving deep physical, emotional and economic scars on individuals and communities. Against this backdrop, long-term, community-rooted work that centres prevention, healing and accountability is essential to shifting the conditions that allow violence to persist.
In Soweto, Dr Nobulembu “Dr Nobs” Mwanda (Class IV: Kalipha) has spent more than two decades building COPESSA (Community-based Prevention and empowerment Strategies in South Africa) into a place where survivors of violence, families and young people can find support, skills and a path to safety. What began as a community response to one child’s trauma has become a long-term commitment to prevention, economic empowerment and shifting harmful norms, with women, men and youth all drawn into the work of change.
The article below traces COPESSA’s journey, the stories that have shaped it and the way practical care and courage can interrupt cycles of gender-based violence.
Read the full story here: “How COPESSA is Combatting Gender-Based Violence in Soweto” on Daily News.
