THE church is a place of safety and worship – not of abuse.
These were the words of Pastor Vee van Heerden from the Vee Van Heerden Foundation, that dealt with gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide.
Van Heerden (42), a former Muvhango actress from Vaal, told Daily Sun the foundation was on the trail of pastors who were behind the heinous crime.
She said it touched her heart when President Cyril Ramaphosa said GBV was the country’s second pandemic, and this made her stand up and fight it.
She visited churches on Sundays to encourage members to the break silence on abuse at the hands of religious leaders and traditional healers.
Van Heerden also advised young women and mothers to break the silence on what pastors did to them.
ALSO READ | Fuel hike protest - taximan shot dead!
“Many victims are afraid to live under a spell and would die if they went against the pastor’s wishes,” she said.
“Pastors refer to themselves as ‘daddy’ and invite victims to the offices for consultation. This must stop as it’s where girls get sexually abused,” she said.
Van Heerden said scrupulous pastors did what they wanted in consultations‚ and then asked God for forgiveness.
She said her wish was to see young girls connecting with her foundation to bring focus to issues related to GBV in churches.