By REGINALD KANYANE
Temo Foundation chairperson, Tebogo Mosito said, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) pandemic remains the most widespread and pervasive human rights violation. Mosito, who organised a men’s dialogue at Palms Hotel in Mahikeng, invited various stakeholders to map a way forward in addressing this issue.
“Our aim is to ensure that we create a sense of urgency and spark a mass mobilisation in quest of responding to GBV. So, this was just an introduction to the unprecedented awareness campaigns and momentums that we are going to embark on.
“This pandemic is ravaging our communities, especially in deep rural areas. I am once a victim of GBV, so I saw how it affect children hence this dialogue. We want to understand the root cause from men’s perspective,” she said.
Mosito said, the GBV pandemic is a historical issue and more education among both genders is essential. She said, the pandemic mostly affects children emotionally and psychologically at a later stage in their lives.
A representative from Uhuru School Shoes Organisation, Ntombi Koloti shared the same sentiments. Koloti said this is a historical pain that happened in families and people should find an amicable way to resolve it.
“We must find a way on how are we going to talk about the pains that were endured even as uncomfortable as they may be. Another issue is economic empowerment, which needs to be addressed.
“Not only girls or women should be empowered because by so doing, we still widening the drift between both genders. In most cases, a girl child is given more support, while most of the time our boy child is left vulnerable, taking to the street and indulging in drugs,” she said.
Koloti further said, men should be taught that it is fine to cry when they are in pain. She added, women should also understand that men deserve to be respected and loved, despite their economic status.
A social worker, Johannes Thetane said: “I think the pandemic starts at an early age, especially in primary school. So, we suggest that social workers should be deployed in schools.
“This will assist because if any child misbehaves, the social worker will be there for intervention. GBV is mostly experienced in rural areas and we have also realised that most perpetrators cry after abusing their victims. This might be a sign that those perpetrators may have experienced abuse in their lives at one stage.”
The vice chancellor at the Vaal University of Technology, Professor Dan Kgwadi said GBV is a very complicated issue.
“Even though I’m not an expert in social issues, my experience so far taught me that one’s upbringing might be the cause. There is also violence from a social and emotional point of view that might have duped the situation.
“Another issue is masculinity that comes from men, but emotional abuse, we are all guilty of it. It is also important to look at the root cause of the abuse because you might actually be dealing with two victims here,” he said.
The Guardian 