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As the 16 Days of Violence of No Violence Against Women and Children campaign comes to a close, Anna Mokgokong writes that she hopes progress is made by the time the campaign is commemorated in 2021.
Every now and then, the treatment of women at the hands of men who hold power over them is brought into the sunlight of public debate, making visible the often private tragedies that women have endured everywhere, including in their homes and at their places of work.
Not long ago, the #MeToo movement, a social movement against sexual abuse and sexual harassment in which people publicised allegations of sex crimes committed by powerful and/or prominent men, was the toast of the world.
While many of the women who led the #MeToo movement have been Hollywood based, wealthy, white and privileged, issues of sexual violence and exploitation intersect with issues of class, race and economic power in ways that we ignore at our peril.
Then, here at home, there was the #MenAreTrash movement which demonstrated how hopeless South African women felt in this social climate of misogyny, sexism or power-based violence.
Of course, the phrase gender-based violence (GBV), is a now well-known and vastly widespread issue that presents a real, daily threat for millions of people across our rainbow nation, our continent and the world.
For the past two weeks, the 16 Days of No Violence Against Women and Children campaign, under the theme "Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect", from 25 November to 10 December, has been top of mind and rallies, discussions, advertisements and forums have been held to discuss the scourge of GBV.
The source of #MeToo, #MenAreTrash, the gender-based violence debate and the 16 Days of No Violence Against Women and Children campaign is patriarchy, a structural misogyny which is alive and well across the globe and in our shores, where sexual assault is swept under the carpet.
The legacy of paternalism and patriarchy
Women face violence in their own communities. As women, we have inherited a legacy of paternalism and patriarchy that continues to manifest in many of our community and family structures. Even outside our homes, places work and communities, we risk further systematic violence.
According to the Social Policy Network and the SA Medical Research Council, figures show that there was an increase in incidents of GBV during the coronavirus lockdown because it effectively made it easier for perpetrators to torment their victims with little or no room for support services.
The government's GBV and femicide command centre recorded more than 120 000 victims in the first three weeks of the lockdown.
Even as everyone deserves to be and feel safe, we have nowhere safe to go to as women.
That's why we pour our frustrations into projects such as the #MeToo and #MenAreTrash movements, gender-based violence debate and 16 Days of No Violence Against Women and Children campaign to inquire into the complex web of social issues that result in this patriarchy-enforced tragedy of GBV.
The government has tightened laws relating to GBV
Of course, consensus is building around the need for action against GBV.
Our government has tightened laws on gender-based violence and sexual offences which have been widespread in the rainbow nation.
Apart from the R1.6 billion Emergency Response Action Plan to combat GBV and femicide, the government tabled three key bills relating to GBV last week.
The first bill seeks to amend the Criminal Law Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act. This creates a new offence of sexual intimidation, extends the ambit of the offence of incest, and extends the reporting duty of people who suspect that a sexual offence has been committed against a child.
READ | Opinion: Mandatory reporting of domestic violence: Helpful or harmful?
The Criminal and Related Matters Amendment Bill tightens the granting of bail to perpetrators of gender-based violence and femicide, and expands the offences for which minimum sentences must be imposed.
The government has tightened the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act. The bill also extends the definition of domestic violence to include the protection of older people against abuse from family members.
Complainants are now able to apply for a protection order online. To prevent a scenario where perpetrators can hide past histories of domestic violence, an integrated repository of protection orders will be established.
How can we prevent GBV?
The #MeToo and #MenAreTrash movements, gender-based violence debate, 16 Days of No Violence Against Women and Children campaign, as well as community and family involvement and action must be coupled with further inquiry into the web of vulnerabilities women and girls face.
We must ask hard questions of ourselves individually and as a society when women and girls disappear or are murdered. How can we prevent this? What are the solutions?
We need a co-ordinated effort to understand this endemic problem and commit to viable solutions.
We need principles which inform the responsibilities that we have towards one another and they must guide the process of truth-telling.
This process should allow us to remember those who have been victimised and to work towards ensuring there will be no more victims. It's time for the rainbow nation to lead not only in thought or intention, but in our commitment to act.
We can learn from the stories of individuals, families, communities and nations that are living this tragedy. This is an opportunity to cast aside patriarchy and discrimination in favour of advancing women's safety and health.
How do we self-correct as a society?
We must find ways to live without fear, shame and hurt. That responsibility belongs to all of us.
How do we self-correct as a society? Through interpersonal relationships and moving towards a culture social transformation. Men, women, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers should create spaces for this to occur by facilitating mentorship programmes and emotional intelligence curricula for children, and by portraying a variety of expressions of manhood across all platforms.
We need to strengthen the bystander intervention programme where we all reject offensive jokes and catcalling and intervene when witnessing sexual assault. All of these efforts work to create an environment in which misogyny, sexism or power-based violence are no longer accepted.
Indeed, we need to expose beliefs and behaviours that contribute to rape culture, a pervasive mentality that encourages permissiveness of sexual violence, glorified objectification of women's bodies, perpetual misogyny and victim-blaming.
The role of women in cultural shifts
What is the role of women in these cultural shifts? Be on guard against victim-blaming and take steps to remain safe.
Problems persist with women who do not want to report assaults because of secondary victimisation at police stations and social shaming.
Internalised misogyny is real - that is, women hating other women. Of course, this is not the root cause of gender-based violence, but changes in these types of interactions can be part of the solution. Women need to become more aware of their thoughts regarding other women and embrace one another. This change is part of the solution.
Patriarchy and rape culture arise from and reinforce male power. In our journey towards attempted equity, women have adopted some of these harmful thought patterns, and must acknowledge how we are hindering our own success.
This is a men's issue
Of course, men, women and children have, in great numbers, suffered abuse, harassment and worse. The vast majority of perpetrators are men. Therefore, this is a men's issue.
Indeed, not all men should be painted with the same brush. There are many great men, especially those who serve as role models and caretakers to young boys and fighters of oppression. Many men have successfully escaped the pressure of the gender stereotype, finding ways to live as their genuine and authentic selves.
The road to gender equality
Let us hope that by the next 16 Days of No Violence Against Women and Children campaign in 2021, we would have made progress in building communities and a nation in which old, narrow standards for masculinity are no longer tolerated.
The world would be far much more a better place if all we all coexisted in peace and harmony. We would be more productive as a nation if we all worked together to build a safe and thriving nation.
READ | Analysis-GBV bills: What about the boys?
As equal opportunities are embedded in our Constitution, let us strive to make sure our young boys grow up knowing that this world belongs to us all, and that dominance, bullying and patriarchy belongs to the past.
Let us teach and encourage boys and men not to embrace patriarchy but choose to be the healthiest versions of themselves and thus contribute to a society in which all, regardless of gender, are valued equally.
- Dr Anna Mokgokong is the chairperson of AfroCentric Health Group, the owners of Medscheme and other healthcare providers, and the executive chairperson of Community Investment Holdings.
