SO WHY THE LONG NARRATIVE? Since entering the GBV sector I’ve witnessed the lopsided approach to resolving the issues, the biased outcomes of the research and the lies that are told to keep an industry alive. Make no mistake, this is an industry, it is in fact an 11-billion-rand per annum industry. That’s a lot of money spent on not making a dent in the GBV/rape stats. Yes, we may be helping individuals heal, but many are trapped. The average domestic violence victim will return to the same or a similar type of relationship at least 7 times before deciding that things need to change.
These are the failings in the state, but to me the worst failings occur in society. The gender biases that are forced upon us by the press and researchers, is akin to a human rights violation on an international scale. The biases project females as the only or majority victims and the visuals supporting this are stereotyped with nurturing caring mothers of little girls; and the horrible perpetrators, hairy fisted, bloodied men. Yet, in my own story I was in an abusive marriage for 21 years, the victims of whom included myself and my daughter. MALE VICTIMS ARE BEING EXCLUDED Mainstream media hardly ever has coverage of stories of females beating their male partners yet on social media such videos are rife. Google searches of ‘male victims of GBV’ produce results on research of women as victims and very little if anything at all on men. Further exploring the statistics on male victims of sexual abuse and rape will produce a standard, ‘one in four women and one in six men’ are victims of sexual abuse but this is a gross understatement.
I was supporting a case recently where the judge scolded the police saying that both the head of the FCS division for the area and the investigating officer did not have enough knowledge. Furthermore they should attend any available training. This is sad news for the 10 victims of the serial rapist in question. The judicial system is strained and there is a definite lack of specialist courts and not enough staff for said courts. Equipment failures and unqualified service providers who are supposed to support the system but instead hinder it, are an added problem to a strained judicial system. The NPA is also severely understaffed. They need specialist prosecutors assigned to the rape cases, sexual abuse cases and GBV cases. These
FAILINGS OF THE STATE AND SOCIETY
We have numerous issues when it comes to GBV and sexual crimes in South Africa, one of the worst issues is the lack of an effective police service. The state has underfunded the police force drastically over the last 20 years.
FAMILY might be lumped together in the NGO sector, but they certainly take a whole new level of expertise when it comes to the legal sector. All of this contributes to the never-ending cycle of abuse that is perpetrated on unfortunate victims.
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Dec 2022 | Collective Action Magazine
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