Dean Peacock
4 December 2008
opinion
In South Africa, as throughout the world, gender inequality continues to undermine democracy, impede development and compromise people's lives in dramatic ways. Just twelve years into its hard won democracy South Africa is faced with twin epidemics of HIV/AIDS and violence against women--each propelled in significant ways by prevailing gender norms that encourage men to equate manhood with dominance over women, sexual conquest, alcohol consumption and risk taking.
South Africa has amongst the highest levels of domestic violence and rape of any country in the world. Research conducted by the Medical Research Council in 2004 shows that every six hours, a woman is killed by her intimate partner. This is the highest rate recorded anywhere in the world [i]. Inadequate recording of statistics makes it impossible to determine conviction rates for domestic violence but a recent study of domestic violence homicides in South Africa showed conviction rates no higher than 37.3% [ii] This violence and the unequal power it reflects between men and women is one of the root causes of the rapid spread of HIV in South Africa. Almost one third of sexually experienced women (31%) reported that they did not want to have their first sexual encounter and that they were coerced into sex. As a result, young women in South Africa are much more likely to be infected than men and make up 77% of the 10% of South African youth between the ages of 15 and 24 who are infected with HIV/AIDS [iii].
Men's violence against women does not occur because men lose their temper or because they have no impulse control. Men who use violence do so because they equate manhood with aggression, dominance over women and with sexual conquest. Often they are afraid that they will be viewed as less than a "real" man if they apologise, compromise or share power. So instead of finding ways to resolve conflict, they resort to violence. We have used the term "men's violence against women" because it is men who commit the majority of all acts of domestic and sexual violence.
However, research shows that South African men are not monolithic but instead hold a wide range of opinions about violence against women. A number of studies have been conducted to determine men's attitudes and practices related to sexual violence [iv]. For instance, a recent survey of 435 men in a Cape Town township revealed that "More than one in five men ...reported that they had either threatened to use force or used force to gain sexual access to a woman in their lifetime" [v].
A 2006 Medical Research Council survey of 1370 male volunteers recruited from 70 rural South African villages indicated that "16.3% had raped a non-partner, or participated in a form of gang rape; 8.4% had been sexually violent towards an intimate partner; and 79.1% had done neither" [vi]. In addition, a 2006 Sonke Gender Justice survey of 1000 men in the greater Johannesburg area suggested that about equal numbers of men support and oppose government efforts to promote gender equality with 41.4% of men surveyed saying that the government is doing too much to end violence against women and 38.4% of men surveyed saying that government is not doing enough to end violence against women. At the same time, 50.1% of all men surveyed felt that they should be doing more to end violence against women [vii]. This research shows that some men hold deeply alarming attitudes towards women, sex and gender equality. However, it also shows that a growing number of men and boys are strongly opposed to this violence and feel that it has no place in a new democratic South Africa.
While South Africa has alarming levels of gender based violence, it is by no means unique. The recent WHO Multi-Country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence indicates that domestic violence is a grave problem the world over and represents a fundamental violation of women's rights [viii]. Faced with this reality, efforts have been made to involve men in ending gender based violence and in achieving gender equality. A number of international commitments have been made encouraging member states and signatories to implement strategies for engaging men and boys. International commitments to involving men and boys in achieving gender equality:
A review of international legislation and UN declarations presented at the fifty-first session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2007 reports that "Equality between women and men is a fundamental principle of international law established in the United Nations Charter" and cites the following commitments:
* The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development affirms the need to "promote gender equality in all spheres of life, including family and community life, and to encourage and enable men to take responsibility for their sexual and reproductive behavior and their social and family roles."[ix]
* The Beijing Platform for Action (1995) restated the principle of shared responsibility; and argued that women's concerns could only be addressed "in partnership with men".[x]
* At the 48th session, the UN Commission on the Status of Women called on Governments, entities of the United Nations system and other stakeholders to:
* encourage men to participate in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS;
* support men and boys to prevent gender-based violence;
*implement programmes in schools to accelerate socio-cultural change towards gender equality.
EVIDENCE BASE FOR INVOLVING MEN AND BOYS IN ACHIEVING GENDER EQUALITY
As new programs engaging men and boys have been implemented, a body of effective evidence-based programming has emerged and confirmed that men and boys are willing to change their attitudes and practices and, sometimes, to take a stand for greater gender equality.
The Medical Research Council's evaluation of the Stepping Stones initiative implemented in the Eastern Cape showed significant changes in men's attitudes and practices. With two years follow up, men who participated in the intervention reported fewer partners, higher condom use, less transactional sex, less substance abuse and less perpetration of intimate partner violence. [xi,xii]
In Brazil, Instituto Promundo's intervention with young men on promoting healthy relationships and HIV/STI prevention, showed significant shifts in gender norms at six months and twelve months. Young men with more equitable norms were between four and eight times less likely to report STI symptoms with additional improvements at 12 months post intervention. [xiii]
Following upon these findings, the World Health Organisation recently released a report endorsing the efficacy of working with men to achieve gender equality [xiv].
Aware of these findings and as a signatory to many international commitments on involving men and boys in achieving gender equality, South Africa has made significant efforts to engage men and boys. The South Africa country report submitted to the 51st session of the UN CSW (http://www.genderjustice.org.za/sa-country-report-2007.html) chronicles the efforts of many government and civil society organisations.
One such initiative described is the One Man Can Campaign developed and coordinated by Sonke Gender Justice.
SONKE GENDER JUSTICE NETWORK AND THE ONE MAN CAN CAMPAIGN
The South African NGO Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke), works within a human rights framework to promote gender equality and reduce the spread and impact of HIV and AIDS.
To increase men's commitment to gender equality, Sonke Gender Justice is currently implementing its One Man Can (OMC) Campaign in all of the country's nine provinces and a number of 8 Southern African countries.
The purpose of the OMCC is twofold: to challenge the attitudes and behaviours held by men that compromise their own health and safety as well as the health and safety of women and children; and to encourage men to become actively involved in responding to gender based violence and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Sonke Gender Justice currently implements OMCC workshops with various groups of men in communities across South Africa and has provided training on the OMCC to a broad range of key stakeholders including government departments at the national and provincial levels as well as to traditional healers, faith based leaders, the police, youth serving organizations, in and out of school youth, teachers and other CBOs and NGOs.
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