Efforts to get into the psyche of a violent man are not meant to excuse his behaviour, but contribute in strengthening the prevention strategy against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).
These were the remarks of KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala during his address at a colloquium on men and violence directed at women and children.
Zikalala said that while the country has raised necessary awareness against GBVF, the problem continues to manifest itself as if “our collective efforts have been worthless, [and] these efforts remain crucial but inadequate,” he said at the weekend.
He said paying attention to the people who commit violence against women is not an easy exercise, and it even sounds morally reprehensible and gives credence to the outcry in society that the focus must be on the victims of crime, not the offenders themselves.
“But this is where research and scholarly work becomes important in helping us as society to pay attention to the gaps in our research and strategies. As social partners, our strategies and policies must always be informed by credible research.
“We must be evidence-based if we hope to win this war against the vulnerable women and children of our country. And if we misdiagnose the problem, we are bound to prescribe the wrong or ineffective remedy.”
The Premier also noted that all over the world, studies on rapists, women and children killers remain scant with society often hoping that once such people have been sent to jail and removed from society, the problem will go away.
“In South Africa, we know very well that despite our well intentioned rehabilitation programmes in our correctional centres, we still have high levels of reoffending. As the province of KwaZulu-Natal, we are keen to know what new insights we can gather from an event like this one about men, what lead them to commit such terrible crimes, giving our country the bad name that we are the rape capital of the world.
“This therefore demands that we talk to men and hear them [out] because it is them ultimately, who end [up] harming women and children. Our interest lies in the fact that we are currently involved in putting together a comprehensive social cohesion and moral regeneration strategy that will produce what we have termed the model citizen of KwaZulu-Natal.
“This model citizen is one who frowns upon violence to resolve social disputes, it is a new person who respects the dignity of the next person and cherishes the humanity of others. Such a model citizen lives the values of our Constitution and makes it his duty to engineer a human rights ethos throughout society.”
Majority of men detest violence against women
Zikalala said government takes comfort knowing that the overwhelming majority of South African men are good, do not rape and detest violence against women.
“We are also fortunate that already, many South African men are participating in various groups and organisations fighting this scourge which has become a national shame. We call on more men to join in such efforts and for them to play a positive role in grooming up young boys to be good men who do not abuse women and children.
“The male child must grow up knowing it is only human and normal to cry. To be a man does not mean to get your way through aggressive means. As fathers and leaders in our communities, we have to teach the boy child that the girl child is his equal, not an inferior or subhuman being.”
The Premier also stressed a need to make use of evidence from literature and research that profiles men who beat women or those who rape them, to inform government plans and strategies.
“Let us pay attention to the body of evidence and literature which carries the experiences and voices of men who perpetrate this violence. This research indicates that the profile of these men are sometimes men who grew up feeling unloved, rejected, and ignored,” said the Premier.
Source: South African Government News Agency