What can we do, today, and every day

In the midst of the 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, news of the Omicron variant detected in South Africa has worried me. This is because the impact of the pandemic has a concurrent effect, which UN Women refer to as the “Shadow Pandemic: Violence Against Women During COVID-19”.

The global 16 Days campaign is 30 years old this year. In context, 30 years is how old Discovery will be next year. It is remarkable and enviable how the organisation has crystallised our clear purpose – to make people healthier and enhance and protect their lives.

But in these 30 years of the 16 Days campaign, women continue to be subjected to violent behaviour in our country. We cannot but take a deep breath and ask ourselves, “What can we do to stem this tide?” How do we help to provide millions of women and girls with safety… safety from harassment, physical, sexual and emotional violence… safety to allow the voices of women to be heard… and just the simple right to live in safety?

When the 2021 international theme for 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence was announced as “Orange the World: End Violence Against Women Now”, I could not help but think how this aligns with the Vitality brand, and the vibrant, happy, energetic, team-inspired Shared Value Model that is the core of Vitality. Shared value is the heart of the Discovery. Apart from wearing orange in support of women around the world, how do we action shared value in what is left of the 16 Days of Activism and beyond??

Discover Your Voice – a dedicated trauma support line and additional benefits

Discovery Group Chief Executive Officer Adrian Gore says: "We all need to play our part to bring about change." Adrian calls on us to self-reflect on what we can do differently to create a culture that is safe and dignified for all people.

“This may be in the way we raise our children, our contribution to our community, or simply being clear on what is acceptable dialogue and behaviour amongst our friends and peers; and actively calling out behaviour that contradicts this," he says.

Discovery’s initiative #DiscoverYourVoice aims to encourage South Africans to speak up and get help. For an organisation that is heavily invested in the prosperity of all lives in South Africa, Discovery developed this campaign initiative as a means to address one fundamental reality of this problem -?the treatment of people.

Recently, I attended a virtual session with Sindi Zilwa, chair of Discovery’s Social and Ethics Committee. I posed the question to her as to what role women in corporate society can play to change the narrative. Sindi’s response: “It’s a disgrace to have 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence – we should have this at top of mind 365 days a year. We need to question how we raise our boys and how we speak to our girls. We can’t be allowing the boys to throw the lemons and expect the girls to make the lemonade. This also extends to supporting and encouraging each other in the workplace – to feel self-confident and empowered as women”. ?

Thirty years on, I urge every one of you to #DiscoverYourVoice, speak up, raise awareness and stand in solidarity. Every day. Imagine a society free of gender-based violence. We owe it to the next generation – our daughters – to disrupt the cycle, to continue to drive preventative programmes aimed at social and behaviour change. There is no doubt that we are making strides towards attaining gender equality whilst challenging the current gender norms. I challenge each of you to start a conversation today – be it teaching your children about gender stereotyping or holding someone accountable for inappropriate comments, or actively promoting an environment within workplaces where women feel respected, valued and enjoy full participation. ??

Adrian rightly says: "We have a responsibility to our daughters, sisters, mothers and also to all in our community who live and work with us, and have chosen to make South Africa their home." Let’s make actions possible once we #DiscoverYourVoice?

If you are a woman in need, access direct support via the?Discovery911 Emergency Line?0860 999 911.?These support channels will be available, 24/7 with complete confidentiality and at no cost to anyone seeking help. #DiscoverYourVoice?