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The global 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign ended in the Joburg Men Indaba, with a pledge by hundreds of men and boys to fight against abuse.
Clement Kunene receives a token of appreciation from Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, the mayoral committee member for community development, and Councillor Nthabiseng Moepi (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)
JOBURG'S men and boys have pledged to fight against the abuse of women and children every day of the year.
Hundreds of men and young boys from City departments and other organisations declared a ceasefire on woman and child abuse at the Joburg Men Indaba, held at Wembley Indoor Stadium in Turffontein on Monday, 10 November. They also pledged to honour, protect and respect women and children.
The forum was part of the global 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign, begun on 25 November. Coinciding with International Human Rights Day, the meeting was aimed at educating men and boys about violence, behaviour changes and supporting structures that help victims of violence.
The campaign started on International Day of No Violence against Women and ran through to International Human Rights Day on 10 December. It included 1 December, World Aids Day. This year's theme was Speak out, stand and commit to prevent violence against women and children. Joburg has taken it further, adding, "Joburg men take charge and make a stand against gender violence."
Commitment
This challenges men and boys to go beyond mere slogans and gatherings and to commit themselves to promoting the message of respect, non-violence and positive behaviour towards women.
Encouraging men to think differently: Mbuyiselo Botha, the general secretary of Men to Men Talk (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)
According to Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, the member of the mayoral committee for community development, Joburg's theme was meant to encourage everyone especially men to commit themselves to fight against the abuse of women and children. Speaking at Joburg Men Indaba, Mayathula-Khoza said, "There is hope because men and women are participating in the campaign."
She echoed the assertion of Executive Mayor Amos Masondo that Joburg's campaign would run throughout the year. The council had met to discuss the matter and had decided to put its efforts together to combat it. South Africa's representatives at the United Nations were also putting the issue under the spotlight.
Prevention was at the top of the City's programmes on gender abuse. A Human Development Strategy, which includes a Women Development Strategy, was drawn up to deal with issues like gender equality. "Development can assist in preventing violence from happening," Mayathula-Khoza said.
She called on women to make an equal contribution in their families, and thus dispel the perception that men were "providers and heads in homes", which contributed towards the subordination of women. Issues of unequal power relations, behaviour towards and stereotypes of women had to be dealt with, she added.
Campaign
Men had taken a lead in this year's campaign to fight gender abuse; there were still "good men" in society. The City undertook a range of activities during the 16 days, including workshops and parties to debate the problem. Workshops were held in all regions and men pledged to declare a truce on gender abuse. In one of the pledges, read at the indaba, men committed themselves to taking action against the abuse of women and children, and to supporting others in the crusade.
Joburg participated in the Million Men March held in Duduza, in neighbouring Ekurhuleni. It also threw a birthday party for more than 700 orphans and vulnerable children, at Little Falls in Roodepoort. Every Child's Birthday was aimed at acknowledging that every child has a birth date.
Mayathula-Khoza noted that young men made up a large percentage of abusers, saying that a Youth Development Strategy had been put in place to help them understand issues of gender. In dealing with the problem, people had to discuss openly the factors that drove them to be abusers.
She called on people to support the City's 365-day campaign against woman and child abuse, warning that a society that had violence could not prosper.
A change of mentality
Mbuyiselo Botha, the general secretary of Men to Men Talk, challenged men to think differently about women and to look beyond stereotypes. Condemning the problem, Botha said: "For as long as women were abused, we are also oppressed."
Pressures of being expected to be a leader and competitive at all times, power and peer pressure were some of the issues contributing to the problem. "The violence we see today is because of how we were taught yesterday."
According to Botha, society expected men to be leaders, protectors and providers roles that some failed to accomplish, and so resorted to violence. "We are expected to be leaders even though we know we can't. We can do things differently from stereotypes."
Steven Sack, the City's director of arts, culture, and heritage services, called on people to look at ways they could individually contribute to the crusade against gender abuse and how perpetrators could be approached.
"Each and every one of us needs to think of a small action he can take and see how the accumulation of small actions will turn the corner against the problem." A dialogue had to be created in communities and workplaces about the issue, he said, calling on people to work together to tackle the problem.
Nthabiseng Moepi, the Ward 41 councillor, echoed his sentiments, saying that men and women had to stand against gender abuse. "To abuse women is a crime," she said. Citizens had to take this message to their communities, friends, relatives, colleagues and peers.
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