Clad in their most fun and colourful outfits, about 2 000 Durban residents showed their support for women at the1st for Women Sisters with Blisters 5km walk in partnership with East Coast Radio, held at the Chris Saunders Park, Umhlanga, on Saturday 3 March 2018.
The walk is dedicated to the upliftment, advancement and empowerment of women. Women abuse is a social tragedy which has reached epidemic proportions, not only locally but globally too, and it urgently needs to be addressed so that women are empowered to go forward together.
Through the event over R80 000 was raised and donated to the Centre for Community and Justice Development, a non-profit organisation which provides fundraising, training, research and other support services in KwaZulu-Natal in the fight against women abuse.
“Sisters with Blisters is about creating awareness; it gives South Africans an opportunity to speak out, be heard and change their destiny positively. We hope that through the march, we were able to inspire others to do just that. We have to do it together, because together we are stronger,” says Casey Rousseau, Marketing Manager of 1st for Women Insurance.
“The fight against women abuse does not end here with the completion of the walk. We have to keep talking about it, sharing our stories and showing our support if we want to make a lasting difference. We will continue to use all of our available platforms to create awareness about abuse and share support with the survivors” says Boni Mchunu General Manager of East Coast Radio.
The theme for this year’s #SisterWithBlisters walk was ‘together let’s #GiveAbuseTheBoot’. When we come together through our collective efforts we will be able to find the solutions to give abuse the boot for good.
The 1st for Women Sisters with Blister walk forms part of a holistic solution, which was implemented by 1st for Women at the start of 16 Days’ of Activism last year. The insurance provider launched its For Women online platform, which consolidates women abuse fighting efforts in one place. The initiative was launched to address the three pillars of support against women abuse, namely prevention, preparation and provision. In addition, the 1st for Women Foundation has raised R56 million, over the last 12 years, in the fight against women abuse.