GBV our common enemy
Cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) have been on the increase in South Africa.
What you need to know:
- Many women reported having been raped, where they were physically forced to sexual intercourse against their will, mostly by their intimate partner
Over the decades, more women than men have fallen victim to incest, rape and defilement: At 14 and six per cent, respectively. According to the 2014 National Crime Research Centre (NCRC) report 38 per cent of women and 20.9 per cent of men reported a lifetime gender-based violence (GBV) prevalence. Many women reported having been raped, where they were physically forced to sexual intercourse against their will, mostly by their intimate partner.
Even with existing evidence on the social, economic, physical and mental effects of GBV on victims and survivors, conversations around sexual abuse are anchored in victim-blaming and justification.
Many have excused rape and defilement on the basis of dressing, money in exchange for sex, as well as alcohol, indicating the hypocrisy of protecting rapists, who even defile month-old babies.
Societal gender roles are linked to increased GVB. Men who beat their wives justify the act as rectifying ‘unwifely’ behaviour and masculine gender roles take centre stage in GBV conversations as justification of sexual access and dominance over women.
Depression
GBV causes psychological problems like post-traumatic stress syndrome, depression, anxiety and low esteem, which can lead to alcohol and drug abuse, risky sexual behaviour and victimisation, according to a 2008 UNFPA report.
Many Kenya communities raise boys to be sexually adventurous and aggressive to prove their masculinity and women to be submissive. Women and girls who deviate from the structure risk disapproval and physical and sexual violence.
But GBV not only affects women, but also men and boys. Society shames men and boys who are survivors or victims of sexual violence with “Be strong as a man” notion.
The rapist will walk scot-free with his community justifying the crime, exalting perpetrators and blaming victims. The myths that rape is provoked by the sexiness of females, men want sex in exchange for gifts and when a woman says ‘No’ she means ‘Yes’ continue to cloud reasoning.
[email protected]. @Eve_odhis
