Women for Change needs your help so it can continue assisting GBV victims

Sabrina Walter, the founder of Women for Change (WFC), has spent the past four years assisting victims of domestic violence, abuse and rape and dealing with the families of murder victims.

Should her organisation’s funds, expected to run out before the end of August due to lack of funding, dry up, WFC may have to cease its operations.

Walter says she has been helping victims the despite a persistent lack of funding.

“While I have been managing the various aspects of WFC on my own, I have faced many challenges in the past years.

“One of our major challenges is the persistent lack of funding. Despite the critical nature of our work, securing partners who provide financial support remains a constant struggle,” she said.

The WFC, a nonprofit organisation, was initially founded to hold ad hoc events for Walter's other organisation Catch Me If You Can which aims to eradicate GBV and host a nationwide running community for women.

This would allow women to be active together, empower themselves and run safely in numbers. 

Her involvement in the fight against GBV grew in early 2016 when one of the leaders of Catch me if You Can told her about her young girl who was raped and murdered at Tokai Forest, Cape Town.

Tokai Forest was one of the places where they ran every week as a group of women. She said she was asked if there was something she could do.

 “My heart was shattered, and I immediately said yes to her and started researching. While I was reading up about the high rates of femicide in South Africa, I also found out about another murder that just happened. 

“Sinoxolo Mafevuka’s lifeless body was found in a pit toilet in Khayelitsha just a few days before Franziska Blöchliger’s murder in Tokai. While Franziska’s case was all over the media, Sinoxolo did not get any mentions,” said Walter.

The WFC was founded in 2016 hosting races in Johannesburg and Cape Town, but after Covid-19 the race in Cape Town was cancelled and she used social media as a tool to address GBV by educating society and sharing stories. 

She remembers many sad and horrific stories including those of Uyinene Mrwetyana, Tazne van Wyk, Jesse Hess and others.

“Last year, at the end of May, I supported a family by creating and sharing a missing poster for a woman who had disappeared after doing her daily walk in her neighbourhood. Gaby’s beautiful face, full of life and hope, was splashed across our social media and, like always, the community came together sharing and praying for her safe return.”

“Then, the devastating DM: 'Sis, Gaby is no longer with us. They found her body yesterday.' I was shattered and felt a sense of failure not finding Gaby alive. These moments are the darkest, where I feel no more hope, and the fight against GBV feels impossible,” said Walter.

She said she gets 150 direct messages on social media platforms daily and has 40,000 followers but has still not managed to secure any funding.

Walter said their outspoken stance in high-profile GBV cases has led to legal challenges in the past, particularly defamation suits, which has drained limited resources .

Another major challenge is support from the government. Despite policies and legislation being in place implementation has been inadequate.   

“The lack of funding severely restricts WFC’s ability to sustain itself, and our current operations and capacity are stretched to their limits. Without adequate financial support, I cannot hire staff to continue to run all aspects of this organisation.

“This would leave countless survivors without the support and advocacy they rely on. It is a critical moment for Women for Change and I urgently need financial assistance to continue this vital work,” said Walter.

TimesLIVE