I do this through my heart

Maggy Mathebula is a First Responder for domestic and sexual violence at GRIP (Greater Rape Intervention Programme) in Mpumalanga, a NACOSA implementing partner organisation. Maggy bridges the gap between the survivor of violence, the police and the hospital or clinic staff.

In cases of sexual or domestic violence, the survivor’s body is not just a physical and psychological body needing urgent medical care, it is also a crime scene. In many cases a survivor, desperate to get help and cleaned up, must first wait until evidence has been collected by the forensic team. Helping someone pass through this difficult space, ensuring they have access to comprehensive post-violence care services, is what Maggy does so well.

The small GRIP office Maggy works from, in a building alongside a hospital in Mbombela, reflects her personality. It is a warm, welcoming space with a sense of assurance. It takes a rare and special person to hold this space, to absorb the pain and suffering of the people who come there, and to be practical about it so that the services offered are effective: mitigating the harmful impacts of violence such as HIV, unwanted pregnancy and post-traumatic stress. When asked why she does this work she simply says, “Because of my passion. It is easy to do because I do this through my heart”.

What she would like to see is more outreach being done to create greater awareness of the issues fuelling GBV and to empower women, so that they can get out of and avoid abusive relationships. Seeing survivors – her clients – heal is the most satisfying thing for her. She believes that the work she does is making a difference because it encourages people to report the incidents when they know there is support for them.

Maggy works on the front lines of South Africa’s gender-based violence ‘pandemic’. She sits with a record book full of mainly woman and children who arrive at the GRIP Centre in need of compassionate care. GRIP was part of NACOSA’s Community-based Violence Prevention and Response programme, which was ended due to foreign aid funding cuts. Although GRIP’s work continues, first response services like those offered by Maggy have been severely affected.

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