There seems to be no end in sight to the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide in SA.
Just on the eve of the celebration of Women’s Month in August, the country welcomed the sentencing to life in prison of Ntutukho Shoba, who was convicted of masterminding the murder of his then pregnant girlfriend, Tshegofatso Pule, in 2020. Pule was found hanging from a tree in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg, in June 2020. She had been shot before being hanged by Muzikayise Malephane, who was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison after confessing to having been hired by Shoba to kill Pule.
The callousness of it all defies comprehension. The euphoria for swift justice was short-lived when a few days later the scourge reared its ugly head once more with the gang rape of eight women in Krugersdorp, which shocked the country. They were raped and robbed while on the set of a music video by a group of men suspected to be illegal miners or the so-called zama zamas.
According to reports, the assailants included elderly men who forced the younger boys who were with them to rape the victims as well. It can be surmised that this was done as a macabre initiation into toxic masculinity with its attendant brutality. As if that was not enough, in southern KwaZulu-Natal, two grade 12 schoolgirls were hacked to death and their bodies dismembered. A 21-year old suspect has since been arrested and will appear in court on 11 August for a formal bail hearing. KZN social development MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza, said she found the whole thing “totally abhorrent and sickening”.
The scourge of gender-based violence needs to be analysed on the basis of the risk factors to its rise and the protective factors to ensure its elimination. Researchers ascribe violent crime to among others, the normalisation of violence, youth vulnerability due to inadequate child-rearing, high levels of inequality and an inefficient and corrupt criminal justice system.
Violence against women is rooted in gender inequality and discrimination fueled by patriarchy. Attitudes whereby women are still regarded as perpetual minors serve to perpetuate power imbalances between men and women. How many times have we seen men holding placards that read “Stop killing OUR women” during protests? Men need to understand that they do not own women.
Sometimes women are guilty of the oversight of blaming the victim for having contributed somewhat to her violation. This is expressed in questions such as “what did you do to upset him? Why did she date a married man?" No matter the circumstances, there can be no justification for the wanton murder of the women of our country. Most risk factors for gender-based violence emanate from how boys and girls are socialised differently from the home and society in general.
The perceptions of normal gender relations between men and women are damaged from the earliest stages. Fathers are not viewed as loving parents but as administers of punishment for both mothers and children. Mothers will sometimes reinforce this perception by threatening children with a hiding by the father when they go astray.
Substance abuse is another risk factor to gender-based violence as it alters the mind and can lead to addiction. Children are then deprived of loving homes where they can be guided optimally and are brought up in less than ideal circumstances. Low levels of education, especially for girls, increases their vulnerability to males since their opportunities for financial independence are severely hampered. They then have to depend completely on men and fall prey to aberrations such as prostitution, slaying, blessing and so forth. Such dependence on men will then reinforce a sense of ownership in these men. Violence results when these women want to end such relationships or to express their individuality.
It is important that girls are provided with the same education as boys to enhance their state of independence. Education is one of the best ways to empower girls and reduce harmful practices such as child marriages and female genital mutilation. By being able to provide for themselves these girls would not engage in objectionable practices such as expecting girlfriend allowances from older men. It is also important that boys are socialised to respect women. There can be no justification for the killing of women by men.
For SA to see an end to the scourge of gender-based violence, perpetrators must be brought to book while ensuring that the scourge is eliminated through the appropriate socialisation and education of boys and girls.
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