South African Faith & Family Institute (SAFFI)

Vision:

To see women, men and children live their full potential in a society free from gender based violence where faith and justice are honored.

Mission:

To advance a coordinated, multi sectoral, culturally competent restorative justice response to violence against women and children by:

• Being a resource to religious leaders, institutions and faith communities as they hold offenders accountable and ensure the safety and empowerment of victims/survivors by offering opportunity for truth telling and healing of individuals and families.
• Challenging, from a theological perspective, patriarchal traditions and other root causes of intimate partner abuse and violence that destroys the dignity of women, children and men.
• Encouraging the promotion of scriptural and theological teachings that encourage intimate relationships that set people free to live their full potential in supportive unions.

Objectives:

The South African Faith and Family Institute (SAFFI) recognizes that religion plays an integral part both in the continuation of Violence against Women and in its eradication. Thus SAFFI’s main objective is to build the capacity of religious leaders and faith communities in addressing issues of gender based violence in our communities and becoming a positive catalyst for change.

Such intervention requires both open critique of theological teachings and interrogation of sacred texts. This is done through workshops, seminars, dialogues and conversation. SAFFI seeks to offer technical support to faith communities in developing denominational or faith specific material on prevention and intervention which would include policies and procedural guidelines for working with victims / survivors and perpetrators of domestic violence (DV).

Through its work, SAFFI encourages the faith sector to work closely with existing DV service providers and the justice system in providing collaborative community based initiatives. The intention is that faith leaders are encouraged to dispel any misinterpretation of scriptures and promote sound contextualized faith resources.