November marked the beginning of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence (GBV), in SA and the world.
In SA this campaign is referred to as 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children.
According to parliament “the campaign aims to raise awareness of the negative impact that violence and abuse have on women and children and to rid society of abuse permanently”. It suggests that GBV “continues to cripple our society, depriving women and children of their right to be safe and continue with their daily lives without fear of being murdered or raped, if not both”.
While GBV includes various forms of violence, such as emotional, psychological and physical, a pervasive form of such violence is sexual violence.
SA’s most recent crime statistics reveal that instead of decreasing, sexual violence continues to increase unabated. These statistics show that during the three-month period of July 1 to September 30 2021, nearly 10,000 people (primarily women) were raped, and of a sample of 6,144 of these cases, 3,951, were committed in the victims’ homes. According to these statistics, there has been a 7.1% increase in the number of rapes committed during this period compared to the previous reporting period.
It is well-known, however, that the number of rapes and incidences of GBV that are reported are only a fraction of those that take place. This prevalence of sexual violence has also been worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic. As an example of this, the SA Police Service (SAPS) received more than 2,300 calls during the first week of SA’s strict lockdown alone, related to GBV. Between March and June last year, 21 women and children were killed by intimate partners in SA.
Pumla Gqola refers to the constant threat of violence women in SA experience as the “female fear factory”. She argues that sexual violence is used to police women’s behaviour in an attempt to ensure that they adhere to the hetero-patriarchal norms that pervade the nation.
Within this hetero-patriarchal logic the gains women have made socially, economically and legally are seen as a threat to the patriarchal foundation and the power it affords men. Consequently, Gqola asserts that “it is no coincidence that SA women who, on paper, are so empowered and have won so many freedoms, are living with the constant fear of violence”.
Toxic discourse is often used as a means to justify violence and in patriarchal societies it is often this kind of discourse that positions women as inferior to men, and women as unworthy of respect. Rape myths and rape culture underlie much of the discourse that allows for rape to be as prevalent as it is in SA: that females are to be blamed for their own rape, that victims ‘ask for it’, and that victims enjoy being raped.
Similarly, such discourse perpetuates the notion that women cannot be raped by their husbands. That is because they are married and the man is entitled to sex.
If sexual violence is to be effectively addressed, then these pervasive and toxic notions need to be challenged and dismantled.
Additionally, most of the discourse around sexual violence focuses on the victims or survivors, while ignoring the perpetrators of the violence. The burden is placed on women to avoid situations that might be dangerous and “break the silence” around sexual violence.
As such, a shift to a discourse that places the onus on men to call out other men, reflect on their own attitudes and behaviours towards women, and to actively work to put an end to sexual violence needs to occur.
To address GBV, greater accountability is needed from the government, along with a much stronger stance on gender-based and sexual violence.
Overall, while the 16 Days of Activism campaign has admirable intentions, one wonders whether this campaign is merely used by the government as a form of political lip service, a way to make it seem as though they care about GBV, when in reality little is being done to combat the war on women’s bodies, as well as the ways in which violence impacts upon women’s abilities to effectively participate and thrive in the democratic nation.
• Westman is a postdoctoral researcher at the Free State Centre for Human Rights, University of the Free State
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.