Toxic masculinity, cultural stereotypes fuel GBV

Seven women are murdered every day in South Africa. This is according to the Crime Stats for the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019.

Associate Professor of Gender Education and Gender-based Violence at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Shakila Singh, explains what is fuelling the brutal attacks against women in the country.

“We fail to recognise them as human beings with equal status and we promote abrasion of men and manhood that is dominating and see women as possessions to be owned and controlled. When men lose that control, then they respond in violent ways and aim to punish and maybe regain some of their power,” explains Singh.

Meanwhile, Professor Singh says education and religious institutions play a vital role in tackling toxic male masculinity in order to curb gender-based violence.

“Schools and universities are certainly important spaces for education and changing behaviour, so is the home and religious institutions. The messages have to be clear and consistent and we have to work towards changing cultural stereotypes, working with boys and girls to break these stereotypes that position boys and men as dominant and aggressive and women as weak and property of men,” adds Professor Singh.