Jewish Life Digital Edition February 2014 | Page 23

There are also practical reasons why a
helpline is beneficial: “The caller does not
have to leave her home and can call when it
is convenient. Also, the caller will be heard
immediately, so there is no delay in receiving support. This is essential in encouraging
victims to come forward.”
Debbie Gross, director of the Crisis Center for Religious Women, in Israel, is a
world-renowned expert on this subject, and
was brought to South Africa to train the
Koleinu volunteers. She spoke at the official
launch of Koleinu South Africa. “Listening is
the first step, and that’s why the first thing
Koleinu is doing is setting up a helpline… to
listen, to hear. Often, we don’t want to hear
the voices, because we don’t want to believe
this is in our community. We don’t want to
believe, because if we believe, that means
every single person has to accept the re-

sponsibility of making a change. It’s much
easier to pretend that everything is good behind our walls.
“But for the victims who do find the
strength to make the call, the volunteers of
Koleinu are amazing,” says Gross. “They’re
gentle, they’re kind. They’re good and they
know how to listen, and how to give the
caller a hug over the phone.”
While Koleinu is primarily a helpline, it
also aims to promote awareness of abuse
through educational programmes and advocacy. This must be done in the form of educating leaders in the community, like rabbis and
teachers, and by ensuring that schools and
shuls have a prevention policy against abuse.
As Gross says: “It is time to speak out.
You have to demand, not ask, that we build
a safer community for our women, for our
children, and for our grandchildren.” JL

The Koleinu helpline will be operational from March, on: 011 440 9660.
The helpline is available for adult members of the Jewish community, and will initially run on a Monday and Wednesday morning from 9am-12pm, and a Tuesday
and Thursday evening from 7pm-10pm. These hours will be adjusted accordingly
once the demand has been assessed.

KOLEINU SA – VITAL INFO
1 The helpline is anonymous.
2 Koleinu SA is not a counselling service, but rather a support service
aimed at eventually directing the
caller to the necessary professional
help.
3 The helpline volunteer will listen empathetically and will refrain from being judgmental.
4 The aim of the helpline volunteer is
to reduce the emotional stress and
help the caller find a sense of control.
5 The helpline volunteer aims to empower the caller and help the caller
find solutions to her problems.
6 The helpline does NOT offer faceto-face counselling, but will rather
direct the caller to the necessary professional help.
7 The helpline has an extensive resource base in order to offer the caller a wide range of resources, so she
is able to choose the option that best
suits her particular circumstances.