- A group of men from Nyanga and surrounding areas marched to Nyanga Police Station to demand equal treatment and recognition when reporting gender-based violence (GBV) cases.
- The march, organized by Father A Nation (FAN) and partners, aimed to address the perception that police often dismiss or ridicule men who report GBV, and to promote gender equality.
- The police station’s Col Wynand Muller welcomed the activists and pledged to convene a meeting with them and other stakeholders to address their grievances and encourage more men to come forward and report GBV cases.
A group of men from Nyanga and the surrounding areas braved chilly weather yesterday (28 August) and marched from the Shawco building at Sithandathu Avenue to Nyanga Police Station.
The demonstration, organised by the Father A Nation (FAN) organisation in partnership with Sonke Gender Justice and the Department of Local Government, was intended to compel officers to grant men the same right to open cases as they grant women.
FAN is a non-profit organisation (NPO) that addresses GBV, crime and fatherlessness. It also restores and equips men to be nation builders and role-models.
Victor Pike, a mentor of FAN, described the event as a peaceful march. He said all marchers wanted was recognition from the officers.
“We are here to convey our message to the officers to take us (men) seriously when we open cases of GBV,” he said. “We want them to give us the same treatment that they give women when they come to open cases.”
Pike added the groups involved also wished to forge good working relationships with the officers. “They must know that not all men are perpetrators. Nor must they paint all of us with the same brush.”
He encouraged men to speak out, and not bottle-up their emotions.
Sikhangele Mabulu, a wellness-centre coordinator at Sonke Gender Justice, said abusing women is not an excuse.
“We condemn the abuse of women and children. And we are appealing to the officers to stop laughing at us or turning back men when they come to the station to open a case of GBV. We demand gender equality.” He added GBV occurs against both genders.
Mabulu urged men to visit counsellors or use other methods to release stress.
Resident Lwazi Stuurman, from Maumau, who is a GBV victim, described the march as a great initiative. He said his ex-girlfriend once stabbed him several times. “I have scars at the back and in the head. I didn’t open a case because I thought I wouldn’t be taken seriously by the officers. Also, I thought the community would laugh at me.” Stuurman said they were fighting at the shebeen.
He also urged men to stand up and raise their voices to be heard.
Col Wynand Muller of Nyanga Police Station welcomed the activists and informed them the station did not take their grievances lightly.
He vowed to convene a meeting with them soon, to which other stakeholders would also be invited.
“I know most of the men don’t come to the police station to report GBV because they think they will be called ‘sissies’. They prefer to keep quiet. But we are pleading with all of them to come forward.”
