Will gender violence diminish?
Hashtags represented women raising their voices
HASHTAGS come and go on social media, but many of the issues they highlight remain in our midst. During 2017 violence against women led to the trending of #MenAreTrash and #MeToo as women voiced their anger and outrage on social media.
Saying “men are trash” on Facebook may leave you falling foul of the social platform’s rules, but the end of the year saw a huge outcry when high-profile women in Hollywood spoke out against sexual harassment at the hands of Harvey Weinstein and others, and the hashtag #MeToo gained traction, followed later with “Time’s Up”, a campaign launched by powerful women to fight sexual harassment.
Locally, #Don’tLookAway encouraged men and women in South Africa to take up the fight to protect women.
Woman abuse got a name and a face when the burnt body of 22-yearold Karabo Mokoena was found in a ditch in Joburg in April.
Sandile Mantsoe, a married father-of-three, who had an abusive relationship with Mokoena, was charged with her murder, and the trial is set down for March.
In another gruesome murder case, Meisie Molefe, 36, from Stinkwater near Pretoria, was murdered, set alight and buried in the yard of her boyfriend, James Dube, 38.
He had reported her missing, but in January last year he handed himself over to police, confessing he killed her when he hit her on the head during an argument. To dispose of her body, he allegedly set it alight and buried it.
In May, Thembisile Yende was reported missing and her body was recovered 10 days later at an Eskom substation in Springs after workers smelt something putrid.
Charged with her death is her boyfriend, David Ngwenya, a 43-year-old technician at Eskom who, it is claimed, injected her with a substance and hit her on the head before suffocating and strangling her.
The motive? Possibly to silence her from speaking out about his involvement in alleged theft of copper cable.
Sophie Ledwaba, 26, lost her life outside the Ayepyep nightclub in Sunnyside, Pretoria in August, which is Women’s Month.
James Ngoasheng, 30, was arrested for shooting her during an altercation and being in possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Sonke Gender Justice’s commissioner for the Commission for Gender Equality, Mbuyiselo Botha, is concerned that 2018 may not see a reduction in the number of attacks against women.
He said that last year, especially around Women’s Month in August, things were bad for women.
Hashtags represented women raising their voices, and showed them taking a lead in dealing with the problem, but also revealed deeprooted problems in society.
This, Botha said, could be seen in reaction to news that a former deputy minister, Mduduzi Manana, had assaulted women at a club in Fourways in August.
Initially his lack of accountability was celebrated by some men, and he was not removed from Parliament.
Independent Media, of which the Pretoria News is a part, hosted the #Don’tLookAway print and social media campaign during the 16 Days of Activism to end violence against women and children.
Some brave women shared their stories and many, including leaders in society, supported the initiative, which will continue this year.
The government has a stated commitment to end violence, with Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula undertaking to treat violence against women as serious priority crimes.
Botha has called on the government to implement a national strategic plan and year-long programmes to address the underlying issues of gender-based violence.
We wait to see if this year will bring some respite for all the women who live in fear of subjugation, harassment and violence.