According to a study done by the International Police Agency (Interpol) (9 April 2012), in South Africa a woman is raped every 17 seconds. An SABC News evening bulletin (9 April 2012) reported that a woman born in South Africa is more likely to get raped than get an education, making the country the rape capital of the world. Addressing One Billion Rising campaign activists at the Durban Magistrates’ Court on 14 February 2013, Durban’s Senior Public Prosecutor Val Melis said there were approximately 300 rape cases on the court rolls in Durban and close to 200 in Umlazi alone. From these statistics, it is evident that gender-based violence is one of the most dominant human rights violations and one of the biggest social ills in South Africa. It is against this gloomy background that the Diakonia Council of Churches, a social justice agency based in Durban, South Africa launched the Thursdays in Black campaign in 2008, to raise awareness about the unacceptably high levels of gender-based violence in the South African society. We urge all concerned citizens to wear black on Thursdays as a way of raising awareness about the scourge of violence against women and children, as a way of mourning and standing in solidarity with victims of such abuse. By so doing we will be sending the message that we are tired of putting up with rape and violence in our communities and that we have a desire for a community where we can all walk safely without fear of being beaten up, verbally abused, raped, and of being discriminated against because of one’s gender. For Diakonia Council of Churches to successfully implement this important project, we are appealing for donations to the tune of R120 000 to purchase the Thursdays in Black buttons, for the printing of explanatory leaflets in both English and IsiZulu, postage as well as distribution of these materials.