Oscar hits sour note at ‘16 Days’ launch

Empty gestures and utterances trivialise gender-based violence, say activists

Premier Oscar Mabuyane outraged gender activists at the weekend when, at a high-profile event meant to tackle violence against women and children, he donned lipstick and compared men to pit bull terriers.

Addressing the provincial launch of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children Campaign in Alexandria on Friday, he said: “If you have a husband or boyfriend sleeping next to you, they could be a pit bull and you could end up dead. We urge our sisters to walk away from abusive relationships before it’s too late.”

Mabuyane was visibly awkward when his chief of staff, Zintle Hlobo, approached him in the front row of the packed marquee and applied a generous coating of red lipstick.

It remained on his lips for the rest of his time at the function. The exercise was reminiscent of the muchcriticised 2019 Brand SA anti-gbv campaign with posters showing men wearing red lipstick.

Dr Rianna Oelofsen, interim director of the Unihave failed to do the necessary prevention work.

“Police are not properly trained to deal with GBV, and there is much secondary victimisation at the hands of police and the legal system. Unless the premier is serious about tackling these issues through proper allocation of resources, wearing red lipstick will remain an empty gesture.

“To say men are pit bulls is quite scary ... it is possible to read this as saying violence is part of the nature, of the DNA, of men. Instead of focusing on the nature of men, it is more important to focus on the nurture, or education, of men,” she said.

Masimanyane Women’s Rights International founder and director Lesley Ann Foster said: “These gestures and utterances trivialise gender-based violence and femicide. I don’t think they understand the implications of their words and actions. We need to dig deeply into our conceptual understanding of how our society normalises the low status that women have in our society. Trivialising violence in any way gives permission to perpetrators to continue their abuse with impunity.”

East London activist Marion Peake, a Dispatch Local Hero and founder of Helping Those in Need, said: “Why only 16 days when this statement, does he count himself in it? Lipstick doesn’t cause rape. I have 25 victims ... [some] children as young as six, who never wear lipstick.

“SA needs more rape centres, not campaigns.

“East London has one rape centre at [Cecilia Makiwane Hospital] ... and police stations are not all up to standard,” Peake said.

Sarah Baartman district mayor Deon de Vos, a speaker at the event, expressed horror at the latest statistics. “We haven’t heard statistics like this even from the war in Ukraine! What kind of war is this where 855 women and 243 children are killed in three months?”

Led by the premier’s office, with Mabuyane as keynote speaker, the event was held at Alexandria’s Derrick Mbele sportsfield in Kwanonkqubela township.

Other speakers included social development MEC Bukiwe Fanta and provincial police commissioner Ltgen Nomthetheleli Mene.

Police district commander Brig Johan Lebok focused on the crime stats and police response.

Lebok said a new GBV committee had just been established, involving police and civil society organisations. It aimed to reduce cases, increase detection and inform victims of their rights and the services available. Police were making door-to-door visits to homes, taverns, schools and healthcare centres, to educate people on their rights. “These proactive campaigns mean people know what their rights are, how to report GBV and what services are available.”

Eastern Cape Men’s Movement leader Xolamzi Sam asked the premier for special courts for GBV cases and more DNA testing centres. Mabuyane said a crimefree community was one of his seven priorities.

He said the government was deeply disturbed by the scale of violence against women and children in the province. “These incidents are indicative of moral decay,” he said. “We must fight hate crimes directed against members of the LGBTIQA+ community.”

A non-sexist society to defeat the toxic culture of patriarchy, the provision of basic infrastructure to address the needs of women-headed households, sensitivity in the parole process for offenders and more Thuthuzela Care Centres in the Sarah Baartman district were among the goals to combat GBV that he cited.

“There will also be a DNA testing laboratory in the Eastern Cape by March,” Mabuyane said, to applause.

We need to dig deeply into our conceptual understanding of how our society normalises the low status that women have in our society