What is Thursdays in Black?
Thursdays in Black is an international movement supported by a range of individuals and organisations around the world. It aims to bring attention to and work towards the alleviation of gender-based violence.
At its most simple, anyone can join the campaign and start wearing black on Thursdays. There is no central office or coordinating body for the campaign and it does not “belong” to any organisation.
The History
It started many years ago from the Decade of Women of the World Council of Churches. However, CABSA, a South African faith-based HIV organisation, felt so strongly about the campaign, that they decided that it needed a little bit more structure and support.
They have since developed the campaign bookmark, an online pledge, supporting materials and resources which are available through a virtual resource centre. They have also built up a Twitter presence, and created a Facebook page. In April 2019, due to CABSA restructuring, the project was transferred to We Will Speak Out SA.
The Current Situation and What They Do
We Will Speak Out SA is the South African chapter of an international coalition of faith-based organisations working to bring about a world free of sexual and gender-based violence. We Will Speak out SA make all of the Thursdays in Black Campaign material (Badges, bookmarks and t-shirts) available.
They also make the print ready material available for those who prefer to print locally. Due to distribution issues when operating on a global scale, printing locally has proved the most efficient way to spread the campaign materials.
The actions of We Will Speak Out SA tie in with Mothers’ Union’s goals as a leading women’s organisation. Mothers' Union is currently in the process of being officially identified as a partner of the campaign. Once this has happened we will be listed here.