Eastern Cape Men ’ s Movement doing all it can to fight GBV and child abuse

The Eastern Cape Men ’ s Movement has called on men and women to refrain from abusing their partners and children, ahead of the annual 16 Days of Activism campaign which starts next week.

The international campaign, which runs from next Friday to December 10, aims to raise awareness on violence against women and children.

Last week, Nomboleko Noludwe Simayile, 32, told her father she had bludgeoned her four young children to death with a hammer while they were asleep at their Mhlabubomvu village home in Ngcobo. She was arrested the same day.

In 2020, a mother and her five children were hacked to death in Elliotdale’s Sidabekweni village by Nowa Makula, 32, a Zimbabwean national who later confessed. He was sentenced to six life terms.

These are just two incidents on a long list.

Eastern Cape Men’s Movement leader Xolamzi Sam said the level of violence against women and children in the province and SA was alarming.

He said the Men’s Movement, founded in 2020, ran programmes in BCM, NMB and Makhanda municipal areas, as well as Amathole, OR Tambo, Chris Hani and Alfred Nzo.

The NGO’S programmes include holding dialogues, some just for men and boys and some involving women and girls as well, and establishing men’s circles, neighbourhood men’s forums and school mediation programmes.

“We are saddened by the number of gender-based violence incidents in SA. Every day we wake up with reports of gender-based violence. It is a cause for concern,” Sam said.

“We are doing everything we can to fight GBV.

“We are a multisectoral platform which consists of various groups of men and boys, and programmes for young and old, in our quest to end GBVF and other social ills.

“Our mediations target schools known to have conflict between boys and we aim at encouraging peace within the school community.

“We have had programmes in schools in Noncampa [in Ngqushwa] and Dutywa.

“In dialogues we allow the community to bring forth challenges they have and we try to find solutions with them.

“Our aim is for men, women and children, both girls and boys, to live side by side without fear or prejudice, and to build a self-reliant society that will promote coexistence and social cohesion.” Sam said the organisation planned to establish a young “gentleman’s and ladies club” to educate youth on issues surrounding GBV.

“And from them we also establish ambassadors of peace and goodwill programmes so that these boys and girls can grow up without abusing other children.”

Sam called for victims of abuse to report their cases and never to take the law into their own hands.

“It is difficult to root out the issue of gender-based violence as it happens mainly behind closed doors.

“Many victims only report at a later stage or don’t report at all.

“We can only do so much, but we hope and plead with families to be on the lookout and report when they see something suspicious or concerning so that it can be followed up,” Sam said.

“The government is doing what it can as far as putting those responsible for genderbased violence [behind bars].

“[However] many people will say the law takes too long to deal with perpetrators of violence.

“What we wish for is that the government can have special courts for gender-based violence [to fast-track cases].”