South Africa
Breaking the cycle of GBV in childhood this 16 days of activism─── ZENANDE MPAME 05:00 Tue, 10 Dec 2024
A full year of action is required to combat violence against women and children, and not just during the 16 days.
When children experience or witness gender-based violence (GBV), it increases the chance of them becoming victims or perpetrators of these crimes as adults.
“Some children grow up in hostile environments which can result in negative life experiences such as violence, emotional abuse, neglect, and rejection,” said SA Society of Psychiatrists member Dr Sibongile Mashapu.
“Children that grow up surrounded by conflict may show behavioural problems such as aggression, poor social skills, academic problems, and criminal behaviour.”
The Human Sciences Research Council released the results of the first-ever national gender-based violence survey conducted in 2022, reporting high levels of childhood physical abuse experiences among women and men. This is indicative of a generational cycle of abuse.
It further revealed that exposure to childhood trauma plays a pivotal role in both the victimisation of women and the perpetration by men and that women exposed to domestic violence as children had a higher prevalence of victimisation.
‘We call for an urgent review of social and mental health services’
“Strengthening the quality and accessibility of public mental health services is key to breaking the cycle of South Africa’s crisis of GBV that begins with exposure to intimate partner violence and abuse in childhood,” said Mashapu.
“We call for an urgent review of social and mental health services, to provide effective mental health support for all survivors of intimate partner violence and child witnesses to GBV, as a key preventative measure to curb the scourge of GBV.”
16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children is celebrated annually from Monday, 25 November till Tuesday (10/12). The theme for this year is ‘30 years of advancing collective action to end violence against women and children’.
The conclusion of the 16 Days of Activism falls on the celebration of Human Rights Day on Tuesday (10/12). This serves as a powerful reminder of the close connection between the struggle against gender-based violence and human rights.
“A full year of action is required to combat violence against women and children, and not just during the 16 days,” said deputy president Paul Mashatile during the launch of the 16 Days of Activism campaign in Rustenburg on Monday, 25 November.
“The cabinet has approved dealing with gender-based violence and femicide as if it were a pandemic.”
