Recent studies conducted into the financial impact of GBV on business by KPMG again focuses on only one side of the equation. Why is society so afraid to know the truth, to tackle the entire problem, to support all victims. Might that mean, that we would have to relook at our biases? HARSH REALITY FOR BOTH SEXES In South Africa we have approximately 250 000 boys and 200 000 girls that are sexually abused each year. The response focus is on girls, and this is definitely needed, however research tells us the following: of the 250 000 boys which are raped each year, 11% of them will go on to rape another person. That means on average 27 500 new male rapists and child molesters are being created each year. Of the 200 000 girls that are victims of rape, 6.6% will go on to rape another person. That’s 13 200 new female rapists being created each year. Do these numbers give you some inclination as to why the numbers of rapes continue to escalate each year? They should. The majority of boys, those that don’t grow up to become rapists, will in large part grow up very angry and this adds to the GBV numbers that we see. A very small percentage of these boys go on to commit femicide. In my daily work with GBV, I’ve not yet met a man that wants to be an abusive husband, but when I get into their histories, it is perfectly understandable why they are so angry. They are inevitably childhood
In looking at the interventions that are currently available for girl survivors, they are certainly severely lacking. A shortage of funding and resources make it hard for most organisations to provide ongoing counselling and support. When we look at the support available to boys, there isn’t very much to speak of. These 450 000 children each year are in desperate need of ongoing counselling and support, six counselling sessions is not enough to recover form sometimes incredibly violent rapes. We are doing ourselves a dis-service by not providing ongoing support for the children, boys included. A large part of this support could take the form of support groups, they are more effective than therapy and cost very little. Let’s change the way we look at childhood sexual abuse and rape. It is not a gender issue, as the numbers show, it’s a human problem, and we will never change the human condition if we are not inclusive of all victims. Boys hurt too.
In South Africa, approximately
250 000 Boys
200 000 Girls
Are sexually abused each year
11%
Of the 250 000 boys Go on to rape another person. Meaning an average of 27 500 new male rapists and molesters are being created each year.
6.6%
Of the 200 000 girls Go on to rape another person. Meaning an average of 13 200 new female rapists are being created each year.
PREVENTION victims of incredible neglect and abuse. How on earth do we expect these men to grow up as healthy functional adults?
Dec 2022 | Collective Action Magazine
60
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator