Gender-based violence is a shameful social ill and as far as SPAR is concerned, the time for passive involvement in the fight against it is over. The Group, consisting of over 900 retail stores across Southern Africa, has pledged to take action against gender-based violence by offering tangible support to victims on a sustainable basis.

“I would like to offer my and my organization’s sincere support for the victims of gender-based violence … I commit myself and my organization to be part of working towards a practical solution … to free our society from all gender-based violence.” Graham O’Connor, CEO, SPAR Group Ltd.

The resulting SPAR initiative is an ongoing campaign aimed at helping END gender-based violence by using the Group’s vast footprint and media reach to offer GBV victims access to life-changing help. SPAR has partnered with LifeLine, a highly established and resourceful trauma counselling call-centre, to provide immediate and professional support. The Group is also supporting many of the country’s care centres. The centres are supported by various SPAR initiatives like the Women’s Month ‘Make Change Happen’, where customers purchase a pair of bracelets for R5 and every cent goes to a regional charity that uplifts women in the area. Some of the centres supported by SPAR include the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children in the Western Cape, The Open Door Crisis Centre in KZN, the Port Elizabeth Rape Crisis Centre in the Eastern Cape and the Greater Rape Intervention Project in the Lowveld.

They are determined to make a difference by taking the fight against GBV in-store, on radio and across social media platforms with a bold and arresting ‘END GBV’ message. The impactful, clean communication creates awareness and education, while providing direct links to help and support, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

It’s great to see a corporate paying more than lip-service to this critical subject and getting involved with practical, immediate solutions for those suffering the horrors of GBV. Here’s hoping other responsible corporate citizens take SPAR’s example and add real action to the call for an END to gender-based violence in society.