The SANAC men’s sector, in partnership with the PEPFAR-funded Brothers for Life campaign and the national Department of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities, recently hosted a televised national dialogue with South African men. The dialogue was facilitated by the chairperson of SANAC, deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe and it aimed to develop a plan of action on the role of men in curbing and promoting healthier and safer communities, especially for women and children.
The dialogue brought together prominent and ordinary South African men from all walks of life, including business, labour, political leadership, sports, and other sectors to unite as one and call for all violence against women, children and other men to end.
“These men have millions of ordinary as well as young men who look up to them and can bring about a united call to action for men to actively protect women and children in their communities”, said SANAC men’s sector chair-person, Reverend Bafana Khumalo.
The dialogue resulted in a National Declaration by men to say no to all forms of gender-based violence. SANAC News will bring you details of the Declaration in the next issue.
The dialogue was called against this background
South Africa has the highest rates of rape reported to the police anywhere in the world. In 2012, the number of rapes documented by the police rose to over 64 000 – or 175 per day. These figures are believed to considerably under-estimate the true number of rapes as many cases go unreported.
According to a 2010 study by the Medical Research Council (MRC) more than 25% of a sample of 1 738 South African men from KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape admitted to raping someone when anonymously questioned. Of these, nearly half said they had raped more than one person. In 1997, violence against women was added as one of the priority crimes under the National Crime Prevention Strategy. Nevertheless, the rates of reported rape, sexual abuse of children and domestic violence continue to rise. In many cases, lesbians have also been targeted with so-called “corrective rape”. KwaZulu-Natal has seen an increase in the abuse of elderly women.
Regrettably, it is men who commit the majority of all acts of domestic and sexual violence. In addition, men perpetrate violence against other men. South Africa’s National Injury Mortality Surveillance System tells us that the rate at which South African men kill each other is amongst the highest in the world.