Women abuse won’t fix itself
This is not just a female problem. A solution requires every sector of society, especially men, to do their bit to eradicate it
SOUTH Africa celebrated Women’s Day on Thursday. The month is in fact dubbed Women’s Month. Women’s Day owes its origin to the march on August 9, 1956 by more than 20 000 women of all races.
They marched to the Union Buildings to protest against the proposed amendments to the Group Areas Act of 1950, commonly referred to as the “pass laws”. The amendments were going to require black women, like their male counterparts, to carry passes.
The march was led by the likes of Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophia Williams. It was brave of all the women who took part in the march to confront the apartheid government of then prime minister JG Strijdom. It is right that their courage be celebrated and a day set aside for such.
However, when one looks at the problems that women face in our society today, one wonders whether we should be celebrating or mourning.
Femicide (the killing of women by their male partners) continues. Discrimination in the workplace on the basis of gender continues. The criminal justice system fails women who have been victims of genderbased violence.
This is not just a woman’s problem; it is our problem and it has reached crisis proportions.
According to Statistics SA’s 2016 Demographic and Health Survey, one in every five women older than 18 has experienced physical violence. Four in 10 divorced or separated women reported physical violence.
The reality is that gender-based violence is a crime of power – one that seeks to uphold patriarchal laws and control the female body in the framework of historically unequal power structures between men and women. It is a problem that belongs to society and therefore a crime by society, in particularly men.
Men must face up to the crime and address it in our various spheres of operation – education, the workplace, religious institutions, our homes and in just about every other sector of society.
With men being the common denominator in women’s suffering, an end to the raw deal that women continue to get depends, to a large extent, on us men. We can prevent violence against women by not personally engaging in violence, by intervening against the violence of other men and by addressing the root causes of violence.
The vow never to personally engage in violence against women is something fundamental because it challenges men to take personal responsibility. Such a vow can be spread through popular culture and incorporated into the school curriculum of the boy child. Forums and sporting organisations targeting boys and young men can also be used as distribution channel. This could go a long way towards shaping the outlook of boys on gender and thus influence their later behaviour towards women.
With regard to intervening against the violence of other men towards women, as men we should never look away whenever we know or suspect a case of abuse. We should take it as our responsibility to help survivors report abuse to the police and help them overcome the pressure so that they don’t withdraw the case.
Ending the abuse and/or oppression of women by men will not happen unless we understand the root causes and are prepared to tackle them.
For starters, the socialisation of both the boy child and the girl child needs to change – at school and at home where gender stereotyping is deeply rooted. For example, girls are socialised from an early age to do household chores, including taking care of younger siblings. The socialisation process instills in girls’ minds that they are inferior and subordinate. Thus, the whole socialisation process results in the deprivation of various opportunities for girls in society while the boy child is encouraged to explore.
The education sector must interrogate some of its content and practices. There are schools where girls are not safe because of how male students and teachers are behaving. We have seen how even universities have, at times, failed to be safe spaces for female staff and students. There needs to be a dialogue in the sector.
On understanding the root causes further, it is important for us to appreciate the unequal power relations between men and women – and seek to change these.
As men, we tend to dominate and occupy strategic leadership positions in society. Either we can use these to advance women or to let the status quo remain.
In the judiciary and in Parliament men are in the majority. Parliament can pass tough laws on woman abuse and the judiciary can impose the harshest sentence, but a lot depends on us men.
Unless society shows its seriousness about stopping the abuse of women, this problem will continue.
We need everyone to grasp that violence against women and girls is a problem for all of us to eliminate.
Indeed, we expect those in the government to be at the forefront of the battle against women abuse.
In this regard, it must enact legislative reforms in order to provide social information and facilitate access to the judicial system for women who are victims of gender-based violence. One would like to see the strengthening of the rule of law and the judicial processes against perpetrators of violence against women from police investigations up to the carrying out of sentences.