ABOUT US
About Violence Prevention Agency • Our Story • Vision & Mission • Stakeholders • Beneficiaries & Sectors
About Violence Prevention Agency • Our Story • Vision & Mission • Stakeholders • Beneficiaries & Sectors
The Violence Prevention Agency is a non-profit company which seeks to make a contribution to violence prevention through advocacy, capacity building and psychosocial support. Violence prevention is framed through the lens of critical emancipatory learning which advocates for humans to become agents of change. It views violence prevention as a responsibility of all people firstly in their individual capacity and then collectively. Consequently, the VPA embraces partnerships to fulfil its vision and mission. It acknowledges the principle of social cohesion and the reality that the VPA cannot independently prevent violence. The organisation was founded and registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission in 2020 in terms of the Companies Act 71 of 2008.
In 2019, the Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture and 17 peer organisations released the People’s Commission of Inquiry into Child Safety in the Western Cape. The People’s Commission was established after the 18 organisations failed to persuade the Western Cape cabinet in 2018, that a judicial commission of inquiry was needed as a starting point to deal with child-based violence prevention. In July 2018, at the Trauma Centre’s Annual Nelson Mandela Dialogue, the children’s leg of the People’s Commission was initiated followed by adult stakeholders testifying in November 2018. One of the focal areas of the People’s Commission was to capture the views of children regarding their lived experiences of violence through an art-based methodology using postcards. They were asked to draw life in their homes and communities and on the flip side of the postcard to write keywords of what they no longer wanted to see in their communities. A group of eighty children lobbied amongst their peers resulting in a collection of 2000 postcards. Their testimonies summarised in the Final Report (Trauma Centre, 2019) provided a clear mandate for peace in the home, school, community and their surrounds. We believe that our children are advocating for social justice to prevent violence. The children’s strong views that adults must assume responsibility for the violence that children are experiencing hit a cord with the former executive director and founder of Violence Prevention Agency when they called upon all adults to change the status quo. Their mandate inspired the foundation of VPA which is centred on human agency to prevent violence.
Our Vision The Violence Prevention Agency seeks to harness human agency to build just and equitable societies committed to preventing violence. Our Mission To encourage and support multiple strategies to prevent violence on a continuous basis. Our Values The VPA promotes values which will contribute towards the realisation of its vision and mission:
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ABOUT US
About Violence Prevention Agency
Our Story
Vision & Mission
Our Stakeholders
Beneficiaries & Sectors