South Africa's gender-based violence: an exploration of a single sided account

Abstract

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a global social problem that has received considerable attention from policymakers and researchers. However, when speaking of GVB, significant attention is paid to women who are seen as being at the receiving end of violence. Although statistics do support the notion that women are mostly exposed to GBV, little attention has been paid to GBV against men as often not, it is the man who is seen as the aggressor and the woman painted as the victim. This article investigates reasons Gender-Based Violence (GBV) against men is not being addressed in South Africa. Males are also victims of GBV in South Africa, although the government, media, and police pay little attention to GBV against males. It is critical to remember, that men, regardless of their muscularity, can be mistreated by men or women. Males may be raped, killed, or attacked, and they also deserve government care and protection. In South Africa, the government is especially concerned about The GBV against women and children, and August is recognized as Women's Month, where women's rights and protections are vigorously contested. However, in South Africa, nothing is done to protect men from gender-based violence. This article acknowledges violence against women and children in South Africa; however, it contends that the government has done insufficient to combat violence against males in South Africa, even though the constitution guarantees males' human rights and recognizes that they can also be victims of GBV.