Women For Change plans to submit the petition against Grammy-winning artist Chris Brown at the start of the 16 Days of Activism, which begins next Monday.
Chris Brown/ YouTube (Chris Brown)
The American artist is set to headline his two-day sold-out concert t next month at FNB Stadium.
The announcement of his performance has sparked a backlash from advocacy groups due to Brown’s history of domestic violence.
Women For Change launched a “Mute Chris Brown” petition soon after the concerts were announced, which has since gathered over 50,000 signatures
“We are simply saying that an abuser cannot be allowed in our country – a rape capital of the world. Gender-based violence and femicide is already a pandemic in our society, especially our femicide rate is higher than the global average,” Women For Change spokesperson Bulelwa Adonis said.
Adonis said the organisation appreciates the public’s response to its petition despite receiving backlash from Chris Brown’s supporters.
“It’s not about the individual per se; we are speaking about a person with a record of abuse, and we refuse to be selective about our activism.”
Adonis told Jacaranda FM News that they are finalising the handover document to be submitted to Big Concerts and the Department of Home Affairs.
“We are going to make this petition handover document accessible to the public. Once we hand that over, which will be at the beginning of 16 Days of Activism, the public will be able to get the full understanding in detail as to exactly why we started this petition,”
Sixteen Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence will run from 25 November until 10 December.
