Discussion | Gender based violence cases on the rise
Summary
TLDRIn Johannesburg, a march against gender-based violence was held following the recent murders of two women. Gender activists and a Commission for Gender Equality spokesperson discuss the ongoing crisis in South Africa, emphasizing the need for men to change their actions. The conversation highlights the importance of educating young boys and holding abusers accountable. Activists call for societal change, urging men to speak out against violence and for institutions to fulfill their mandates in preventing such crimes.
Takeaways
- 🚨 **Urgent Issue**: The script discusses the ongoing and severe problem of gender-based violence in South Africa, with recent murders of women highlighted.
- 🗣️ **Voices of Activism**: Gender activists and a Commission for Gender Equality spokesperson express their views on the crisis, emphasizing the need for change.
- 👥 **Male Accountability**: There is a call for men in South Africa to take responsibility for their actions and to change their behavior towards women.
- 👶 **Youth Focus**: The conversation suggests that addressing the issue should start with young boys, teaching them respect and proper behavior towards women.
- 🏠 **Family and Society**: The role of family structures and societal norms in perpetuating violence against women is discussed, with an emphasis on the impact of single-parent homes and exposure to violence.
- 👮♂️ **Institutional Failure**: Critics argue that institutions like the Commission for Gender Equality have failed to effectively address the issue and are not living up to their mandate.
- 📢 **Awareness Campaigns**: The script mentions the importance of awareness campaigns and community education to change societal attitudes towards women.
- 👨👦 **Mentorship Programs**: There is a mention of programs aimed at mentoring young men to become better partners and individuals in society.
- 🔄 **Need for Continuous Effort**: The conversation points out that one-off marches and events are not enough; there is a need for sustained, project-driven efforts to engage men.
- ⚖️ **Legal System**: The role of the judicial system in addressing gender-based violence is touched upon, with a call for it to be more effective in dealing with perpetrators.
- 💪 **Strength and Resilience**: The script ends with a message of strength and resilience for women, encouraging them to stand up against abuse and seek help.
Q & A
What was the purpose of the march against gender-based violence in Johannesburg?
-The march aimed to protest against the recent murders of women and to raise awareness about the ongoing crisis of gender-based violence in South Africa.
How were the victims of the recent murders described in the script?
-The victims were described as being brutally murdered, with one found hanging from a tree with stab wounds and pregnant, and another's body was found dumped.
What historical context was provided regarding gender-based violence in South Africa?
-The script mentioned past incidents of violence against women, including the murder of a 14-year-old girl and a 98-year-old woman in the Eastern Cape, indicating that the issue is longstanding and not new to 2020.
What is the characterization of being a woman in South Africa as per the script?
-Being a woman in South Africa is described as being a 'working zombie' or a 'shadow that can disappear at any minute,' highlighting the constant threat and fear they live under.
What role do men have in addressing the issue according to the activists in the script?
-Activists emphasized that men in South Africa need to change their actions, speak up against abuse, and not remain silent or complicit in the face of violence against women.
What is the criticism of the Commission for Gender Equality as mentioned in the script?
-The criticism is that the Commission for Gender Equality is not effectively fulfilling its mandate to educate communities and create awareness campaigns, and is only reactive after incidents of violence occur.
What are some of the programs mentioned to address the behavior of young boys in South Africa?
-The script refers to programs that aim to groom young boys to become better partners and individuals, and the need for more initiatives to educate them on respecting women and changing societal norms.
How does the script suggest changing the mindset of men towards women?
-The script suggests that men need to be educated to understand that they do not own women and that violence is never a justifiable response, and that this education should start from a young age.
What is the role of family structure and upbringing in perpetuating violence as discussed in the script?
-The script indicates that single-parent homes and exposure to violence during upbringing can lead boys to become violent adults, and there is a call to engage with these boys and provide positive role models and education.
What advice does the script offer to women who feel they might be in a dangerous situation?
-The advice given is for women to recognize the signs of potential violence and to leave such situations, emphasizing that abusers rarely change and that women's lives are paramount.
What is the final message to women from the activists in the script?
-The final message is one of strength and resilience, encouraging women to stand together, support each other, and continue fighting against gender-based violence despite the challenges.
Outlines
🚨 Women's Struggle in South Africa
The paragraph discusses the ongoing issue of gender-based violence in South Africa, highlighting recent tragic incidents where women were murdered. It emphasizes the urgency of the situation, noting that these problems persist despite previous marches and efforts. The conversation includes a discussion with a gender equality spokesperson, Jeff Oberoi, and gender activist Nilayam, who express frustration at the lack of change and the need for men to take responsibility for their actions. The paragraph emphasizes the need for societal change and the role of men in addressing violence against women.
👦 The Impact of Society on Young Boys
This paragraph delves into the societal influences that shape young boys' perceptions of women, often leading to harmful attitudes and behaviors. It discusses the sexual commodification of women and how it affects boys' views of girls. The paragraph also touches on the efforts of certain organizations and individuals to mentor young men towards better behavior. There is a critique of the gender commission's effectiveness and a call for more proactive measures to educate and change societal norms. The conversation suggests that men need to hold each other accountable and that the current approaches to gender equality are insufficient.
🏡 Family Structure and Violence
The focus of this paragraph is on the role of family structure in perpetuating violence, particularly in single-parent homes where children may be exposed to violence. It discusses initiatives aimed at engaging with boys at a young age to prevent future violent behavior. The paragraph also addresses the need for a more consistent and impactful approach to addressing gender-based violence, including the involvement of the justice system and community education. There is a call for men to take a more active role in changing societal attitudes and behaviors towards women.
💪 Strength and Solidarity of South African Women
In this concluding paragraph, there is a tribute to the strength and resilience of South African women in the face of ongoing gender-based violence. It encourages women to seek help and leave abusive situations, emphasizing that no one should become a statistic. The paragraph ends with a message of solidarity and a commitment to continue fighting for the rights and safety of women, despite the challenges and setbacks.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Gender-based violence
💡March
💡Effectiveness
💡Gender equality
💡Cries falling on deaf ears
💡Men's responsibility
💡Culture of violence
💡Institutional failure
💡Community education and awareness
💡Resilience
💡Accountability
Highlights
March against gender-based violence held in Johannesburg CBD following recent murders of women.
Puglia's murder, found with stab wounds and pregnant, highlights the severity of gender violence.
Another woman's body found a day after Puglia's funeral, indicating a continuous crisis.
The conversation questions the effectiveness of marches and awareness campaigns in South Africa.
Nilayam, a gender activist, describes the grim reality for women in South Africa, comparing them to 'working zombies'.
Historic context of gender violence is provided, dating back to the murder of Unimposing at age 14.
The role of men in South Africa is questioned, with a call for action to change their behavior.
The importance of community education and awareness campaigns is emphasized by gender activists.
The failure of institutions like the Commission for Gender Equality is criticized for not fulfilling their mandate.
The need for programs to educate young boys and men about gender equality and respect for women.
The influence of adult male behavior on young boys and the culture of sexual commodification.
The role of the 'gentleman code' in perpetuating violence against women and the need for men to speak out against it.
Jeff Oberoi, a spokesperson for gender equality, discusses the conversations among men about the issue.
The need for a shift in mindset and behavior among men, recognizing that they do not 'own' women.
The impact of single-parent homes and exposure to violence on the development of violent behavior in boys.
Initiatives to engage with young boys and men to change the culture of violence and promote positive interactions with women.
The importance of life orientation in schools and training teachers to address gender violence.
A call to action for all men to take responsibility for the violence perpetrated by their peers and to change society.
Advice for women in dangerous situations, encouraging them to seek help and prioritize their safety.
Transcripts
hello again another march against
gender-based violence has taken place in
the Johannesburg CBD today in the last
week at least two women have been
murdered and their bodies found at
dumped pregnant sofas or Puglia was
found hanging from a tree with stab
wounds and she was with child a day
after her funeral
another young woman's body was found
dumped in a felt but just how effective
or effective are these marches South
Africa was in the exact same crisis in
October last year so has anything
changed we try to find out now from
Commission for gender equality
spokesperson Jeff Oberoi and gender
activists and Nilayam joining us via
Skype for this conversation a very warm
welcome to both our guests and thank you
very much for joining us this I know let
me start with you perhaps
how would you characterize being a woman
in South Africa thank you did you and
thank you for having us and let me also
create my colleague Java Bali on the
other side first of all being a woman in
South Africa in 2020 you are a working
zombie you are a shadow that can
disappear in any minute you are a person
whose awaited to be allocated a number
of the body that will be lying down
lifeless because a men decided to take
over your life being a woman in South
Africa in this day and age means that
your cries will fall on deaf ears
because no one bothers to listen no one
bothers to hear no one bothers to stand
up for anyone and for anything and any
injustice sorry that happens to a woman
the worst thing is that these are not
Christ that are only emanating or
starting in 2020 these are guys that
have been there when unimposing
was killed her breasts were cut and
stuffed in her private parts at the age
of a mere age of 14
these are cries that have been there to
do as far back as when 98 old woman in
Goethe in the Eastern Cape was raped
killed and her abode was chopped in
pieces and left in that
house with the cries that were there
when Winningham quakecon a--when caribou
more oh um caribou machina and many
other nameless and faceless women who
have died in South Africa the issue for
me in this day and age especially for
today is that the question that needs to
be at there at the attic or and at the
center of every conversation that we are
having is that what is it that the men
of South Africa are doing to change
their actions because we are not dying
for any for any other reason and from
any other reason except for us being
killed by men what is it that the men of
South Africa have done so far and what
is it that they are willing to do so far
to change what is currently happening
how can the future change if it's not
gonna change by them what is it that
they are doing to change let's introduce
into the conversation ja vu by Louie
he's of the spokesperson for gender
equity in South Africa hearing that
question that has been posed by Aussies
and neljä what is it that men of South
Africa have done or are willing to do to
address this situation from the
conversations that you have with people
in your social circles and even people
outside of your circles social circles
what is it that men you speak to tell
you or what are the kinds of
conversations that you are having about
the situation that we are seeing in the
country thank you to do and let's just
shy away from that because your line is
bad boot Java we will try and
reestablish their connection and get
that answer from you but I'd like to
perhaps go into something where we have
a lot of programs that speak to the girl
child and nurtures the girl child do you
see us having as many programs or even a
little bit to address issues of the boy
child to teach them certain languages
and equip them with the tools that they
will need not only for themselves but
also
to interact with women actually do do if
you are looking at the landscape of our
society from a behavioral point you'll
see in as far as men are concerned adult
men that is there's little that young
men or young boys can learn from our
fellow adult men because as you can see
the picture today looks very gloomy the
picture is very a picture of disparity
because the behavior that you will have
on young boys is a behavior remember
young people are a reflection of a
society they live in the only things
that young boys can take in society is
that which is availed to them through
the behaviors of those that are they are
growing up and under during that time so
if you are looking at a young boys of
our of our era its young points that
really and when they see a young girl
they see someone on the basis of the
sexual commodification culture that um
they have grown in society have you know
experiencing that which talks about the
shock the shuttle the shuttle Ness of
the scared the shortness of of their of
the top that is revealing in the flesh
and all those things those are the
cultures that these young boys are
growing up under and these are the
cultures that and a man and not aware
that they are commence enticing young
boys at a very young age to see a woman
as nothing else but just an object for
sexual pleasure and for anything else
that they deem as men they deserve at or
out of a woman and it is a painful
experience because as we stand on the
side as general activists who are
females on the side we ought to find
evil men I know people like and that
there Petric shy has got an organization
that is about grueling young men to to
be better to be better partners in in
their lives as adults I know Rams
ma'buta also runs a an organization
where he's grooming young boys as well
to become better but appears to their
fellow and you know girl
yes but that is not enough and also it's
a pity that we can't get to the gender
and a commission on what because one of
the things that I wanted to emphatically
speak on today is that we have been
failed by institutions like the gender
Commission that institution is not
created and established for people to
give them some big salaries and impacts
and and benefits when on the ground they
are not there to do that which is their
mandate one of the reasons that makes me
to say that is that the only time we
will hear general the general Commission
speaking it is the aftermath of the
killings that would have happened what
is it that they do as they are part of
their responsibility in their mandate of
having an community education that a
campaign awareness in nature which must
bring these dialogues in societies where
people are unable to to TTT to change
their behaviors they are not just an
institution that should be there to
speak and say we condemn we working I
mean we call it out no way an
institution that is empowered with
resources to taxpayers to make sure that
they learn programs and that attention
that contributed towards the change of
what the face of South Africa looks like
in as far as premise is concerned we are
really tired we're even we will not even
see the relevance to do of this hashtag
attack awareness campaigns and matches
and what not 2020 we cannot have men
taking only a stance and taking only a
step by much and much has lost its
meaning much much as have lost their
their parent into to create the impact
we need men of South Africa because out
of five men who are a group of friends
do to one man is a woman a Pecha a woman
a woman abuser two men in that group
know that know that but treatment out of
that a fight about it because the
gentleman code doesn't allow them to
expose one another that is the only
thing that we need South African men to
do now we need them to speak and name
and shame each other so that this thing
can end because the only wisdom why men
still find it possible for them to do as
they please with
it's because they know that there is
someone somewhere who's sitting the fact
that I am an abuser who's shooting me
the fact that I'm akela so those who are
even more you know must be even more
guilty of this should be those the ones
who are quiet knowing very well that
they appears and their friends and their
and their colleagues I will mine wishes
and women killers let's reintroduce a
jabu below a gender equality
spokesperson Java so just hearing what
Aussies and Nellie is saying what is the
temperature of conversations among men
in your social circles and outside about
the issue of abuse of women one of the
guys that we talked to they are owning
up to the mistakes of other fellow men
and including our sources the Commission
we apologized to the head and the pain
that would do to the women the position
has moved away from that social
mobilisation we need to change the
mindset and the desire alpha train we
need to understand it men understand
that they don't own women it's not our
women it's women of this country and
girls and girls the moment that you know
you try to defend them unnecessarily so
you think that you poor you need to be
there to give them a safer space to
coexist and be themselves and what
another thing that is worrying is that
alone we have been doing this gathering
as events we need to be to be more often
a project driven to say it'll engage
with men we need to be get the outcome
we need to have good output and good
input into their off so that men begin
to understand some of them the pain that
they do because no matter how much
you're provoked you cannot kill someone
no matter how you lose your job you feel
less defend that you feel that you can't
provide utility you can't take someone's
life so those are the feel that has
meant we need to do we have seen so much
is that there's impact that is being
there we have seen the matches that we
did we say this is a minister from the
police but minutes of digital every year
hundred men March there was a greater
impact and the momentum died down and
then when we may never was were killed
we started up again
the momentum died down we are bad here
with
to have a ballgame to get all together
in order to deal decisively with the
three and looking at our judicial system
with attempting to be equal to think
Java what is the role of the family
structure the way that South Africa is
set up you find that a lot of homes are
single-parent homes you also find that
the boy child is exposed to violence and
he grows up to be a violent person from
the work that you do what have you
noticed on this from the record with you
we have got also a champion within the
Commission visa labora we had also men
we work with the church for matrons who
went with government what we are seeing
we are encouraging even the Department
of Justice and the minister I'm gonna be
about something called under the tree
dialogue to target that boy child who is
exposed to violence at a young age and
that manifests themselves at the later
years of their life what we need to do
with these boys up on some where it
could be image so again it could be at
the church it could be somewhere we need
to begin a process to adopt a boy tell a
lot of people that have started that we
know some doctors on the social
outsourced alcohol they're doing that
adopt abortion and engage the culture
while they still yeah we need to make
sure that we also take advantage of life
orientation in schools that's where we
can get this young we need to train the
teachers so that they can become express
themselves and also call upon the
Commission and other like my description
which is unable to come on board to say
let's begin to calculate the culture
positive culture your boyfriend when
they're still young when they ate at
primary level so that might be
unfortunate they've dropped out we need
to find them where they are and get you
a did you talk to them engage them
positively we don't have to blame them
but you must make sure they understand
the environment that they grew up it's
not a healthy environment they need to
go through all of us as men we must or
it shouldn't you say ten bacteria that
have been abuse women
it should be all of other states it's on
hand on that we are guilty of this if
one man is doing this it means it's also
I am doing something what I'm doing eg
to change society that's what we are
doing as a book where for the program
for men and boys and what we hope when
we we will go throughout the country
again after
lockdowns will have that many meaningful
impact that we form I desire a final
word from you sis and nearly perhaps
your word to women who are finding
themselves in a very difficult situation
at this hour who are in the same
household as somebody who they can see
maybe not tell that this will end in
something drastic but they can see the
signs that this is getting dangerous
first of all I would love to say do do
that the women of South Africa you are
you are strong rocks from where
resilience of human and failure is built
it is not the end that we find ourselves
having to stand and fight against our
own brothers and our own fathers and our
own relatives who are men in particular
because we've got no one to stand up
with us those who are in relationships
and especially and intimate
relationships where there is there are
signs of violence walk out because an
abuser will never change walk out
because before we know you will be a
statistic we are tired of women becoming
numbers were tired of women becoming
passing shadows we take this moment and
bow our heads as we pay homage to many
women who pass well past in the recent
time due to their health at the violence
and of their partners but also we take
this moment and gather our strength and
women to say as much a lot much like I
did in the past we shall do it will
never tire to fight for one another will
hold each other's hand even as our scars
are plating even as we have no hope that
this will pass but would believe only in
our strength as the women of South
Africa
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