Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme (TVEP)
CONTACT PERSON: Fiona Nicholson
PHYSICAL ADDRESS:
House Number 2
Old Embassy Buildings
Sibasa
Thohoyandou, Limpopo
POSTAL ADDRESS:
P.O. Box 754
Sibasa
Thohoyandou
South Africa
0970
TELEPHONE: +27 15 963 1222
FAX: +27 15 963 1973
E-MAIL:fiona@tvep.org.zaWEB-SITE: TVEP website
Thohoyandou is the administrative and legislative centre for the Venda region in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Thohoyandou is the former capital of the independent homeland of the Venda people. Its name means "head of the elephant" in Venda.
It is one of the fastest growing towns in the Limpopo Province and the proud heart of the Venda people. It is situated about 1 Km south of the village of Sibasa. The town is the commercial, administrative and legislative centre for the district. It is a bustling centre of commerce, served with shopping complexes, a museum and hotels.
The town is situated in the south of Venda, on the main road between Louis Trichardt and the Kruger National Park. This is the lush agricultural centre of Venda, with its banana plantations, acres of sub-tropical fruit, tobacco and maize lands.
Coffee and tea plantations abound in the higher slopes. It is a well-populated area, dotted with tidy villages. Thohoyandou is the main development node in the Thulamela Local Municipal Area with a total of approximately 80 000 residents within the proclaimed boundaries of the town. It is further surrounded by numerous rural settlements situated on the outskirts of the proclaimed area.
Thohoyandou forms the main business centre of the area with the offices of the Vhembe District Municipality as well as the regional offices of several Government Departments also situated within the town. The city is home to the University of Venda. This is the only university in this area.
Witchcraft is rife in the area with the Commission on Gender Equality presenting the Thohoyandou Declaration on Ending Witchcraft Violence in 1998. This was adopted by civil society and public bodies to little effect and today the problem is still an unfortunate characteristic of the area.
In 1997, the Thohoyandou Community Policing Forum together with the SAPS initiated the establishment of a Victim Empowerment Committee (VEC) in accordance with the provisions of the National Crime Prevention Strategy. With seed funding from the Department of Health, the South African Police and local business, the first 24/7 One Stop Trauma Centre was opened at our regional hospital in September 2001, and “break the silence” campaigns were initiated. The committee was registered as the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Trust in January 2002, with provision for a range of stakeholders to be co-opted as Trustees. We subsequently found that government stakeholders are not always suitable as Trustees, due to a conflict of interests. This was addressed, and the Programme is now managed by a team of 40 staff and 46 local volunteers, overseen by a Board of Trustees fully committed to our Mission, which is as follows: TVEP’s Mission is to generate an attitude of zero tolerance towards all forms of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and AIDS stigmatization in the Thulamela Municipality.
TVEP’s objectives are:
In addition, TVEP’s Access to Justice programme ensures that survivors of Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence , Child Abuse and HIV related stigma are able to efficiently access the services of the Criminal Justice System.
A Positive Support Services Department consolidates HIV Specific work across all of the organizations projects. Some of our Beneficiaries: The following is a summary of our achievements in the past 8 years: 1. Number of sexual assault survivors assisted: 4,019 (60% children) 2. Number of domestic violence survivors assisted: 7,747 3. Number of survivors assisted through the Criminal Justice System: 7,518 4. Current reported compliance to Post-Exposure Prophylactics: 59% 5. Number of people reached directly through BtS Campaign in the past 3.5 years: ±74,500 6. Number of airtime hours on Phalaphala FM (National): ±120 hours 7. Number of airtime hours on Community Radio Stations: ± 93 hours 8. Number of people receiving support from TVEP Help Desks in the past 3.5 years: 9,017
TVEP sits on the South African National AIDS Council Women’s and Law and Human Rights Sectors and is the countries lead organization on Female Condom Advocacy.
Thohoyandou is the administrative and legislative centre for the Venda region in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Thohoyandou is the former capital of the independent homeland of the Venda people. Its name means "head of the elephant" in Venda.
It is one of the fastest growing towns in the Limpopo Province and the proud heart of the Venda people. It is situated about 1 Km south of the village of Sibasa. The town is the commercial, administrative and legislative centre for the district. It is a bustling centre of commerce, served with shopping complexes, a museum and hotels.
The town is situated in the south of Venda, on the main road between Louis Trichardt and the Kruger National Park. This is the lush agricultural centre of Venda, with its banana plantations, acres of sub-tropical fruit, tobacco and maize lands.
Coffee and tea plantations abound in the higher slopes. It is a well-populated area, dotted with tidy villages. Thohoyandou is the main development node in the Thulamela Local Municipal Area with a total of approximately 80 000 residents within the proclaimed boundaries of the town. It is further surrounded by numerous rural settlements situated on the outskirts of the proclaimed area.
Thohoyandou forms the main business centre of the area with the offices of the Vhembe District Municipality as well as the regional offices of several Government Departments also situated within the town. The city is home to the University of Venda. This is the only university in this area.
Witchcraft is rife in the area with the Commission on Gender Equality presenting the Thohoyandou Declaration on Ending Witchcraft Violence in 1998. This was adopted by civil society and public bodies to little effect and today the problem is still an unfortunate characteristic of the area.
In 1997, the Thohoyandou Community Policing Forum together with the SAPS initiated the establishment of a Victim Empowerment Committee (VEC) in accordance with the provisions of the National Crime Prevention Strategy. With seed funding from the Department of Health, the South African Police and local business, the first 24/7 One Stop Trauma Centre was opened at our regional hospital in September 2001, and “break the silence” campaigns were initiated. The committee was registered as the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Trust in January 2002, with provision for a range of stakeholders to be co-opted as Trustees. We subsequently found that government stakeholders are not always suitable as Trustees, due to a conflict of interests. This was addressed, and the Programme is now managed by a team of 40 staff and 46 local volunteers, overseen by a Board of Trustees fully committed to our Mission, which is as follows: TVEP’s Mission is to generate an attitude of zero tolerance towards all forms of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and AIDS stigmatization in the Thulamela Municipality.
TVEP’s objectives are:
- To create a supportive environment for the victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and the HIV/AIDS pandemic;
- To inform, educate and capacitate the community about their rights and responsibilities pertaining to sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and HIV/AIDS;
- To capacitate and rehabilitate victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and HIV/AIDS
- To ensure that justice is served.
In addition, TVEP’s Access to Justice programme ensures that survivors of Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence , Child Abuse and HIV related stigma are able to efficiently access the services of the Criminal Justice System.
A Positive Support Services Department consolidates HIV Specific work across all of the organizations projects. Some of our Beneficiaries: The following is a summary of our achievements in the past 8 years: 1. Number of sexual assault survivors assisted: 4,019 (60% children) 2. Number of domestic violence survivors assisted: 7,747 3. Number of survivors assisted through the Criminal Justice System: 7,518 4. Current reported compliance to Post-Exposure Prophylactics: 59% 5. Number of people reached directly through BtS Campaign in the past 3.5 years: ±74,500 6. Number of airtime hours on Phalaphala FM (National): ±120 hours 7. Number of airtime hours on Community Radio Stations: ± 93 hours 8. Number of people receiving support from TVEP Help Desks in the past 3.5 years: 9,017
TVEP sits on the South African National AIDS Council Women’s and Law and Human Rights Sectors and is the countries lead organization on Female Condom Advocacy.