Country of Birth

South Africa

Industry

Philanthropy and activism

Top Achievements

Lucinda Evans was moved to action when she witnessed a man beating his wife in the street. Although there was a crowd around them, nobody did anything to help the woman. Everyone was watching instead. Evans decided that she would be the one to do something about the cultural acceptance of violence and launched Philisa Abafazi Betu, a non-profit organization, in 2008. 

Philisa Abafazi Bethu is based in Lavender Hill, a hotspot for gang violence in the Western Cape, South Africa. Led by Evans, the organization supports women who are victims of violence. Translated from Xhosa, Philisa Abafazi Bethu means healing our women. 

Early Life and Education

Lucinda Evans was born in District Six, Cape Town, in 1972. She moved to Lavender Hill when she was five and began working in community development when she was only nine years old. 

Early Career

Early in her life, Lucinda Evans worked at the Red Cross Hospital and did community work in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces in South Africa. Evans played a vital role in opening the first ambulance service in Beaufort West in the Western Cape. As the cluster chairperson, she also served the Mitchell’s Plain Community Policing Forum.

Regardless of where she worked or helped, Evans was also highly active in activism against gender-based violence and femicide. She soon became known for leading marches across South Africa. She was one of the speakers at the #AmINext protest, which took place outside the parliament of South Africa and called for action to combat gender-based violence. 

Achievements

After decades of volunteering for various projects, Evans finally garnered support for her activism and philanthropic work in 2012. The World Childhood Foundation provided her with much-needed funding to help her with projects around the country, including an emergency safe house for victims of violence. 

Rene Roman 

In 2017, Evans helped the family of Rene Roman by assisting them in searching for their daughter and providing emotional support. Rene Roman was a 13-year-old girl abducted and murdered by a neighbor after an attempted rape. 

One Billion Rising

Lucinda Evans has been the coordinator of One Billion Rising in South Africa since 2017. The organization was named One Billion Rising because one in three women worldwide will suffer violence or rape in her lifetime, which makes more than a billion women worldwide. 

The goal is to rise through creative dance to express joy and community. It is the biggest mass action for ending violence against women and includes cisgender, transgender, and fluid people subject to gender-based violence. 

Recognition 

• 2016 – Evans received the Chevier De Honneur bravery award in recognition of her frontline work on the Cape Flats for Gender-Based Violence Prevention.
• 2019 – Named as one of BBC’s Top 100 Women of the World.
• Recently nominated as child commissioner of the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

Additional Facts

• As of 2019, Lucinda Evans was the only South African ever chosen as one of the BBC Top 100 Women of the World. 
• District 9, a 2009 science fiction movie, is set in a scenario based on the events surrounding District Six, where Lucinda Evans was born.

Lavender Hill’s Lucinda Evans named one of @BBCWorld 100 influential women | https://t.co/shWuk1i8TA #BBC100women pic.twitter.com/hLHpgrbelw

— Smile90.4 FM (@Smile904FM) October 18, 2019