Abstract
South Africa continues to be plagued by gender-based violence (GBV). Recurring incidents of GBV cram news tabloids, social and electronic media, creating the impression of a country at war with itself. Of great concern is that, at the centre of these killings, men are allegedly the main culprits. This then has unleashed national protest campaigns, one notably, by the name #menaretrash, led by activists, mostly women, who angrily voice their disquiet against men. As a response, it was followed by another, namely, #notinmyname, led by those, mostly men, who say, there are many good and proud men who will not allow the image of manhood to be tarnished. At risk is ‘trust’ which is an important social asset, the demise of which plunges any society into a state of parody. This article then seeks to establish the damage GBV causes in terms of trust, especially of women to men. To do this, a survey was conducted to test levels of trust under different circumstances and in respect of different categories of people and public figures. The findings partly confirm existing surveys elsewhere whilst also making contradicting and worrying revelations. The article tries to reconcile these divergent positions socioculturally and theologically and conclude with proposals towards addressing the scourge of GBV.
Highlights
‘In South Africa, every 8 hours a woman is killed by an intimate partner’ (Makou 20171)
Makou further argues that the notion that the South African trend of violence against women is ‘five times higher than the average in the world’ is partly true, as this is an average that overlooks the years in which it spiked much higher than that (Makou 2017)
1.Gopolang Makou, for Africa Check, argues that the notion, ‘every eight hours a woman is killed in South Africa’, is misleading as that factually refers to femicide by intimate partners
Summary
‘In South Africa, every 8 hours a woman is killed by an intimate partner’ (Makou 20171). Makou further argues that the notion that the South African trend of violence against women is ‘five times higher than the average in the world’ is partly true, as this is an average that overlooks the years in which it spiked much higher than that (Makou 2017) These statistics pitted against other popular statistics, including general murders and people dying in political conflict zones, suggest a problem of extreme proportions that apparently runs unbridled and unabated. The results of this onslaught on women can be observed in the indifference shown by women towards overtures or acts of kindness, such as offering a lift and other helping hands. There are several other bothersome questions relating to the increasingly fragile relationship between men and women, which cannot all be covered in this brief article
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