On the last day of Women’s Month, immediately after a Special Council session in Mogale City, Speaker of Council eagerly made her way to West Side FM – a Kagiso-based local community radio station to have a conversation with women listeners in the city.
The conversation focused primarily on Gender Based Violence (GBV), which she also endured and a few measures that the municipality’s Social Development through our social workers has put in place to assist women and children that are violated in their homes and communities.
As a domestic violence survivor herself, Cllr Noluthando Mangole said abuse in a domestic setting, particularly by an intimate partner, is not always physical. “When an intimate partner repeatedly uses words to demean, frighten or control you, it is verbal abuse. In most cases, when the abuser deems the yelling and shouting unsuccessful, the attacks turn physical,” she explained.
Cllr Mangole who is now a single parent to three boys, said as complicated and dangerous as leaving an abusive relationship is, women need to find their power and leave. “If you are going through any form of abuse in your relationship, you do not have to put up with it, you do not have to believe your abuser. There is help, you can leave and you will be happier,” she added.
She further encouraged victims of GBV and domestic violence that seek help to reach out to the municipality’s social workers for professional psychological support and trauma counselling. Social workers are available weekdays between 9:00am to 13:00pm on (011) 951 2375. She concluded the interview by encouraging young girls to never be afraid to express themselves, to read and be willing to learn and to prioritise education in order to gain independence.