SOS Femmes
SOS Femmes is the Focal NGO in Mauritius

BACKGROUND:
SOS Femmes is a women’s NGO which gives psychological and legal advice and counseling to survivors of domestic violence, rape and incest, and to their children. 

OBJECTIVES:
We are a feminist organization and all our work revolves around women's needs.  We put women first and our motto is "Put women back on their feet.” We never deal with the issue of domestic violence as an isolated issue but endeavour to look at the underlying factors and the main causes which sustain and perpetuate violence against women. Hence, over the years SOS Femmes has organised nation-wide campaigns, in addition to our usual seminars and conferences.

PROGRAM AREAS AND ACTIVITIES:
SOS Femmes has a number of publications including:

• Report on Domestic Violence in Mauritius
• "Des Droits de L'Homme aux Droits des Femmes"  which discusses all the actions taken by the United Nations on women’s issues
• A newspaper called "Koze Fam"
• A book containing the testimonies of 20 survivors, including those of a few children

SOS Femmes has conducted a number of large events, including:

• Covering the whole island with a poster which carried the message "Vrai Zom pas Bat Fam" (Real men don't beat up women). 
• Sending 33,000 letters to men addressing them as father, son, father-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle, cousin etc. and asking them to protect their daughter, cousin, daughter-in-law aunt etc from DV and to take action to end DV within their respective family and their locality.
• Since 2000, we have opened up community debates by trying to look at the connecting issues, such as poverty, religion, HIV/AIDS, family structure and culture.
• Over the years, many PHD students from Africa, the US and England have come to SOS Femmes to study our work, including nine Americans who have come to SOS Femmes under the Fulbright scholarship scheme.
• Since 1989, SOS Femmes has regularly published articles about DV and other women issues for the Mauritian media.
• SOS Femmes has produced a play  " NU Traverse" (Our lives) about DV.  The play was based on real stories of battered women and has been shown all over the island and at the Market Theatre in Johanesburg, SA.
• SOS Femmes also has its hymn called “Quand festin la pe deroule, lerla mem fam la gagne bate" (When the party is in full swing, a women is being beaten up)

Resources about or by SOS Femmes:

• Have you ever noticed that the worst thing you can call a man is a woman?, SOS Femmes, Mauritius. [view]

• Vrai Zomme Pas Bat Femme! (Real Men don't hit Women) [view]

• 16 Days of Activism 2006 campaign report [view]
  

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Address: 22 Bis Trotter Street
Beau Bassin, Mauritius
Telephone: +230 454 2789
Focal contact: Rada Gungaloo
Email: sos.femmes@intnet.mu

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