Vision
These founding principles fundamentally inform the vision of SJ which is to be an organisational voice and advocate for advancing human rights, particularly of women and vulnerable groups in underprivileged communities. As such and within the remit of promoting women’s rights, SJ’s focus is concentrated on providing specialised services to victims and survivors of SGBV&F.
Mission
SJ’s core mandate is based on the core constitutional principles of promoting human rights, economic empowerment, and social welfare with a strategic focus on women, youth, people living with disabilities, and vulnerable groups.
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Framing the challenge
Over the life of its organisational existence and operational experience, SJ has found that the interventions required to deal with violence against women, girls, and vulnerable groups are of behavioural, attitudinal, and cultural nature. In particular, this concerns the social manifestations of Black African maleness which are profoundly rooted in a domineering and often violent patriarchal ethos. This is where traditional, cultural, and religious practices clash with the norms of constitutional rights and obligations.
Since South Africa’s democratic transition, the constitutional rights of women and women’s empowerment have been observed more in the breach; that is, women have found it very difficult to advance a human rights agenda that puts them on an equal footing with men, whether at home or in the workplace.
In conclusion
In the letter and spirit of the above conceptual and operational parameters of its work, SJ has made significant interventions by providing services that have made an appreciable difference in the lives of its targeted demographic profile of women, girls, and vulnerable groups. We are confident based on the success of our model, that it can be replicated across other affected communities since it has proven its effectiveness and validity as a force multiplier not only in the disadvantaged communities where SJ has worked in Soweto and the greater Gauteng area, but indeed across the country.