Roegchanda Pascoe (c.1975-) is a South African who has stood up for her rights and campaigned against violence in the

Cape Flats The Cape Flats ( af, Die Kaapse Vlakte) is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. The Cape Flats is also the name of an administrative region of the City of Cape Town, which lie ...

area. In 2022 she was recognised as a

International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

by the

US Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Life

Pascoe was brought up in

Retreat, Cape Town Retreat is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa. Geography Retreat is bordered by Steenberg and Lavender Hill to the south, Tokai, Bergvliet and Kirstenhof to the West and Heathfield to the north. Retreat railway station is on the main line fro ...

where violence existed in her neighbourhood and within her family. She was involved in the clothing industry and she was a student and union leader working for the rights of her peers. She began living in Manenburg which is a neighbourhood within the area of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

known as

. In 2013 the Manenberg Safety Forum was formed and funded by a small group to work towards decreasing violence in their area. Her ex-husband was one of its financial supporters and she was elected as their chairperson. They began “Reclaiming Our Streets” trying to get rid of the gangsters and the drug dealers and they set up WhatsApp groups to report crime. Schoolchildren can be caught in crossfire and they organised lessons for children in how to react to a gunfight. They persuaded their local police station to set aside a room for victims of rape and domestic violence and this idea was copied by others. left, The 2022 (virtual) International Women of Courage On 6 March 2019 she was phoned by her son-in-law. Unknown attackers had fired bullets through their flat. She had moved out earlier that day, but her children and grandchildren were sleeping there. No one was hurt but she knew this was a warning as she had witnessed a murder of Angelo Davids and she was willing to give evidence against the accused gang members. Her son-in-law, her daughters and grandchildren all moved into the safe house where she was staying. During that week she gave evidence in court against the gangsters accused of killing Angelo Davids. She was advised to never return to Manenburg. In the same year she was sent to London as South Africa's representative as an Anti-crime activist at the ''Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime in London''. In March 2022 she should have gone to Washington DC as she was among twelve women chosen from different countries to receive an

. However, because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

the awards were made virtually.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascoe, Roegch 1975 births People from Cape Town Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award Living people