Cross worked held a number of positions at various projects during her career as a social worker . She actively worked African Children 's Feeding Scheme . On 16 June 1976 , Cross was working in Soweto for the Johannesburg City Council , which ran the Orlando sheltered employment workshop . She became trapped by the start of the Soweto uprising against the Apartheid-era South African government . She described her escape from the Soweto riots as a " terrifying experience . " She was described as quietly , but bravely , committed to social justice . Cross was a resident of Kensington , Johannesburg . Her home in Kensington was often used as a meeting place for anti-apartheid and anti-conscription activists . South Africa introduced universal military conscription for young white South African males in 1967 . The penalties for refusing to serve could be severe . Originally , the penalties for refusing service ranged from 10 to 12 months in prison when the law was initially created . The jail sentence for conscientious objectors was later increased to six years by 1983 . The anti-consciption movement was largely confined to South African " peace churches , " such as the Jehovah 's Witnesses , until the very late 1970s , when other activists , such as Nan Cross , began to campaign against the draft . Cross became active in the movement in the very early 1980s . In 1980 , Cross helped to found an organisation called the Conscientious Objector Support Group . She would later become a founding member of the End Conscription Campaign in 1983 as the conscientious objectors movement slowly began to gain increased support
Soweto uprising
Soweto uprising
Nan Cross