Dirty laundry gets public airing

"Roses won't take away the pain when he's going to beat you up again."

This is a message from a teenager living in one of the most dangerous suburbs in South Africa.

The message was tied to a fence in Manenberg as part the annual Air Your Dirty Laundry event yesterday.

Youth from Manenberg on the Cape Flats are sick of the violence festering in their community.

Yesterday, more than 700 children gathered at the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children for the annual event, which coincides with World Aids Day and forms part of the 16 Days of Activism campaign.

The centre has become a lifeline for victims of violence and abuse in Cape Town. Since it opened 17 years ago it has assisted more than 180,000 people.

The centre says it has seen a staggering 65% increase in the number of women and children seeking help at the shelter .

This year the children joined street artist Martin Lund to paint a 50m mural on the centre's wall.

They also wrote messages condemning violence on T-shirts that were hung along washing lines, a common feature outside the rows of tenement blocks on the Cape Flats.

The youngsters also wrote on ribbons tied to a fence along Klipfontein Road.

One message read: "Stop abuse. Enough is enough." Another child simply wrote: "Stop hurting me."

About 6% of young people aged between 15 and 24 have been victims of sexual assault in the Manenberg area, according to the 2014-2015 police statistics.

A further 33% had been victims of assault and 8% were murdered.

"Air Your Dirty Laundry is an artistic platform that gives young people a chance to speak up and out against violence. Children are silenced far too often on the subject of abuse, bullying and sexual exploitation. Our campaign aims to raise awareness around violence and its pervasiveness in homes and communities," centre director Shaheema McLeod said.

"The women seeking our services are getting younger and younger, which shows we need to focus on young people and children if we want to break the cycle of violence in this country."