Abstract:
Gender-based violence (GBV) has become one of the most widespread human rights abuses, with a staggering prevalence rate in the world. Young girls and women are the ones mostly impacted by GBV, which is mostly inflicted by men (Martini, 2021). Numerous studies that have been conducted on this problem greatly covered important aspects of this phenomenon; however, very few have investigated why many campaigns that address GBV are not directed at men who are mostly the perpetrators. For the past years, there have been campaigns that encourage women to speak out about GBV in the hope that men would change their behaviours, yet GBV cases are rising daily. The aim of this study was to investigate the ways in which male-focused GBV communications campaigns can be developed and implemented to address the high rate of GBV that largely affects women in South Africa. The feminist theory of patriarchy and power was deployed in this study to understand the power dynamics that perpetuate male dominance and control. Similarly, the theory of caring masculinity was used to challenge traditional patriarchal norms by promoting and instilling empathy and caregiving as masculine traits. A qualitative research method was used to unearth trends in the attitudes and perceptions of the participants in exploring the research problem. The population of this study comprised female GBV survivors, male perpetrators of GBV, females and males who had never committed or experienced GBV as well as gender activists. These participants were sampled using purposive, volunteer, convenience and snowball sampling. To collect data, in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion were conducted with 24 participants from the University of Limpopo and Maphalle village, all in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. Twelve interviews and one focus group discussion were held at the University of Limpopo while six interviews were held at Maphalle village. Findings showed that men’s negative attitude and perception around GBV and patriarchy contribute to the prevalence of violence and gender inequality in South Africa. Similarly, it was revealed that most campaigns that address GBV in South Africa are directed at women because they are the victims of GBV and offer them support. Moreover, it was found that campaigns can be used to change men’s attitude about the normalisation of violence. To prevent GBV, men need to be engaged in campaigns against violence as allies and not as perpetrators. Therefore, this study proposed a model of male-focused communication campaign that addresses GBV in South Africa.
