The 1000 Women Trust is a women-led organisation and one of the leading NGOs in the country, committed to eradicating gender-based violence, femicide and bullying.
The NGO recently started hosting free of charge trauma training in Bloemfontein for members of the community.
The courses offer training for trauma support volunteer training, anti-bullying training as well as GBV and substance abuse awareness training.
The NGO realised that something has to be done about the staggering statistics that nearly 90% of childhood bullies become perpetrators of gender-based violence.
The Trust recently collaborated with Thuto Setlogelo from the Free State Cooperate Governance and Traditional Affairs Department, who is serving as a gender-based violence and femicide coordinator.
“There was clearly a lack of capacity building concerning trauma counselling in the Free State. NGOs were not ready to handle the demands of GBVF locally because many of these NGOs are not funded and don’t have office space or facilities to conduct such initiatives,” mentioned Setlogelo.
The 1000 Women Trust trained over 10,000 trauma counsellors, with 2,724 trained in 2023 alone. These counsellors often serve as the first point of contact for survivors and play a pivotal role in facilitating police visits and ensuring the successful prosecution of perpetrators.
“The trauma counselling of the 1000 Women Trust and anti-bully material were also introduced to the schools where various GBV and bullying instances took place.”
Abigail Visagie
