South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa has said one of the reasons gender-based violence continues is that there is a culture of ambivalence among men who see crimes against women and children as a ‘private matter’ or a ‘family matter’.
In his note on Monday to mark the start of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children in the shadow of a terrible crime, the President said in most cases of gender-based violence, including domestic abuse and sexual violence, the attacker is known to the victim.
Citing an example of early this month, of the images which were circulated on social media where a young male student stabbing his partner and also a student, on the campus of the Peninsula University of Technology.
He said the fact that the attack happened in broad daylight and in full view of the public, shows that some perpetrators of gender -based violence seemingly do not even care if there are witnesses to their crimes, nor do they fear apprehension.
Ramaphosa commended the students who tried to intervene even when threatened, as well as those who stepped in as the alleged perpetrator was being attacked by a crowd, adding that it’s significant that other male students attempted to ward off the attacker of the young female student.
He recommended that the African Union (AU) will convene the 3rd Men’s Conference on Positive Masculinity in Pretoria this week, which will call on men to reject toxic displays of masculinity. “South Africa is co-hosting the conference with AU Chair and President of the Comoros, Azali Assoumani.
He recalled the inaugural conference was held in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2021 and the second one was in Dakar, Senegal in 2022, saying for the AU, as it is for our own country, ending gender- based violence is a priority.
Ramaphosa stated that discussions are currently underway on the content of an African Convention to End Violence Against Women and Girls, executing a decision of the African Union Summit earlier this year.
“Once adopted, the convention will be the first continental legal instrument for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls”, the President said.
According to him, “As South Africa we are part of the AU Circle of Champions. It is an association of African Heads of State who committed to implementing programmes at a national, continental levels that promote positive masculinity and encourage more men and boys to be part of the fight against gender-based violence.
“We have long maintained that interventions aimed at eradicating gender-based violence in our society must focus on prevention.
“If we are to raise a nation of men who are positive role models, who take care of their families, who exhibit positive masculinity and who would not countenance hurting woman or a girl, we must work with young men.
“As South Africa we adopted a national strategy to combat gender-based violence. One of the pillars of our National Strategic Plan to Combat Gender-Based Violence and Femicide deals with prevention.
“We have been engaging with civil society, academia and researchers, traditional leaders, youth organisations, the faith community and the private sector on the issue of prevention”.
He added, “A number of initiatives are underway across a range of sectors that are providing space for young and older men to discuss notions of masculinity. Men are called on to critically consider their own prejudices, preconceptions and chauvinisms that abet gender-based violence.
“A number of government departments have interventions in place that are focused on promoting positive masculinity through dialogues, workshops, awareness-raising campaigns, psychosocial support and behavioural change programmes.
“In August this year I was part of the Presidential Young Men and Boys’ Indaba in Soweto. I had the opportunity to talk with a group of young men as part of the ‘What about the Boys’ initiative.
“The aim of this programme is to get young men to open up in a safe space about their own experiences with masculinity and how this impacts their own attitudes to gender-based violence”.
Ramaphosa noted that the AU Men’s Conference aims to advocate for more initiatives and dialogues where young men and boys can talk about these issues among their peers. “We need to inculcate a mindset that sees young men as part of the solution, and not just the problem.