Violence against women is the problem of every man in SA
Eradicate the scourge by socialising our children, examining our beliefs
● In the past few weeks we have witnessed a dramatic rise in the brutal and senseless killings of women, young girls and children in SA by men. Our country has been deeply traumatised by these acts of extreme violence.
We know these violent attacks and brutal killings are by no means limited to the cases highlighted in media reports — there are a lot of women and children in rural areas and townships who do not get media coverage but suffer in the same manner as victims across the country. We must fight and defeat this ugly phenomenon in our society.
This is a huge indictment and shame on our country, our society, our communities, our leaders, and our men. We can no longer just say we condemn these killings and the abuse of women and children. These barbaric killings have gone beyond a crisis point in our country. This is every South African man’s problem. It rests on the shoulders of every man, church leader, religious leader, political leader, and governmental leader. This scourge is on all our doorsteps and in the communities for which we are responsible.
We welcome the arrest of perpetrators in the past few weeks but arresting them alone is not enough — we demand that a strong message be sent by our courts and the criminal justice system to ensure that they receive the maximum sentence if convicted. We cannot afford to fail the victims, or their families, their communities, society and our country.
A war is being waged against the women and children of our country and it is time that we, the men of SA, stand up and be counted. History will judge us harshly if we dare fail the women and children of this country by not speaking out. As was said by President Ramaphosa in his recent address to the nation: “It is indeed a dark and shameful week for us as a nation.”
We must establish a new norm, a new standard, and a new commitment to respecting women and children.
We call upon every man, all sectors, and leaders, in particular, to intervene against this scourge without delay and intensify our campaigns, predominantly at community level. This is a societal problem that must be defeated at societal and community levels and in every home.
To all men who consider themselves good men, good fathers and good leaders who have been silent on this matter: your silence is deafening. It sends a message to the women, young girls and children of our country that they have to fight this fight alone.
As the saying goes, “when good people keep quiet, evil prevails and the nation perishes”. I urge us all to reflect on our silence and seek out ways to add our voice to the chorus of condemnation.
According to police statistics, SA has the highest femicide rate in the world. What an embarrassment to us all.
It is time that we change the trajectory of our nation. Rather, can SA be known for something good? These are not just statistics — each one is someone’s grandmother, mother, daughter, or sister. We must stop seeing these tragedies as numbers and begin to see the people and their families who suffer.
For us to effectively deal with this problem, we need to understand its nature. The reality is that gender-based violence is a crime of power — one that seeks to uphold patriarchal norms and control the female body in the framework of historically unequal power structures between men and women. It is a disease of the heart and mind that infects society and therefore is a crime which must be eradicated by society forging a new norm of equality and respect between men and women.
This is the kind of challenge that should see us placing our differences aside and uniting as a nation. The government will not be able to resolve it alone, a point emphasised by the president, and neither can civil society or the police.
This scourge requires individual responsibility in our spheres of influence. The questions we need to ask ourselves — particularly as men — are: “What role am I playing in preventing the scourge? What is my contribution to my community and my area of leadership?” We need to take personal responsibility if we are going to overcome and defeat the crisis.
These new commitments must be made in every home, in the way we socialise both our boy child and girl child and in the way we communicate with our young boys and girls in our homes. We must hold each other accountable from community level to national leadership.
When it comes to sectors that we belong to and lead, we must reflect on how some of our beliefs and practices contribute to the oppression of women and children. In the religious/Christian domain, we need to be mindful of our teachings and the language we use — that they do not promote patriarchal and male-dominated behaviour which perpetuates the abuse of women and girls by men.
In education, we need to examine the school curriculum, both overt and implicit, and how it may be contributing to gender discrimination. We need to address the portrayal of women in the media and communications industry in general — where the objectification of women’s bodies is still prevalent. We need to start conversations in the country’s newsrooms about this.
The same applies to the workplace, where in the 21st century discriminatory ideas and practices persist — unequal pay, diminished responsibilities, positional bias and glass ceilings.
It is when we begin to interrogate these issues and have discussions in our spheres of influence that we will begin to make a real difference to violence against women.
I want to challenge every man, including young men, every leader and community leader, pastor, bishop, apostle, CEO and executive, to take up the fight against this scourge. It is in our hands.
Pastor McCauley is president of the Rhema Family of Churches and chair of the National Religious Leaders Council