Not all men are rapists, sure, but almost all rapists are men

THE annual 16 Days of Activism ended last week and, as was to be expected, South Africa is no less hostile to women and children (although it is also fair to say that the violent masculinity behind the scourge of rape and domestic abuse claims many male victims, too).

However, in a week in which a three-year-old girl was raped and killed in Sebokeng, it is worth asking ourselves whether we are doing enough to respond to gender violence in a decisive manner. Sadly, the depressing answer is an unequivocal NO!

This week the UN special rapporteur on violence against women, Dubravka Šimonovic, issued a statement titled “South Africa’s still long walk to free women from the shackles of violence”, in which she expressed concern about the lethargy with which this plague is met in South Africa. She said that “despite an arsenal of progressive laws and policies to deal with gender-based violence put very ably in place, there has been little implementation, hence gender-based violence continues to be pervasive”.

She cautioned about hearings conducted in a manner hostile to victims and challenged the deeply entrenched patriarchal attitudes towards the role of women in society.

We obviously know all of this and have programmes, laws and policies that respond to this crisis, and it is a crisis. But our implementation record is way below average.

For example, although there are policies aimed at reducing barriers to reporting, these have not been made public, despite two written requests to the minister. And the police do not want to be persuaded by research to acknowledge that there is serious under-reporting of sexual offences, yet police are rewarded with bonuses, not for solving a crime but for the number of crimes reported to them.

Success is defined in terms of low reportage rather than successful apprehension and prosecution of suspects. The campaign called 16 Days of Discontent has cleverly and urgently turned the theme around by focusing on areas where South Africa falls short in its fight against gender-based violence, and particularly the rampant rape of women and children.

Instead of focusing on slogans and speeches about how “our women and children” must be safe, it has actually demonstrated that these are mere words and that on the ground, survivors/victims are violated and traumatised further by systemic failures.

There is consistent underfunding of post-rape services and, in addition, the funding by the corporate sector to anti-violence projects could not be measured.

We claim to be a country that has a progressive constitution with substantial rights for people with disabilities, yet they are not adequately accommodated within the criminal justice system.

It was distressing to learn that so much money, about R8.4-million, has been thrown at co-ordinating structures, strategies and plans to address violence against women, but three years later, only one report has been produced and, you can guess, it hardly forms the basis of any intervention or national discourse on this issue.

There are many areas in which the policy of BEE has failed, but the vigour with which the debate around BEE itself has been kept alive cannot be faulted.

Racism is still prevalent in society and the conversations about it are gaining momentum.

Victims of white racism never, ever jettison the race debate because “not all white people are racist”; they recognise this fact but know that in spite of it, there is enough structural, institutional and personal racism to justify the debate.

Yet, when it comes to rape and gender-based violence, some men in our society — and there are many, black and white — are likely to retort: “Not all men are rapists.” They are more concerned with ambushing the focus and “clearing” their names than with being warriors in a war that is destroying so many lives. It is shameful.

Some men are more concerned with ’clearing’ their names

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