Can knowledge of self be the cure to GBVF in Alex?
GBVF activist Brenda Selibi reflects on how teaching an understanding of gender and sexes can lead to a world without gender-based violence and femicide.
Alexandra-based gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) activist Brenda Selibi reflected on the concerning growth rate of these incidences across the township community.
The second quarter of the crime statistics released by the SAPS for 2024/2025, released on November 25, depicts an increasingly dangerous situation for women in the community.
Statistics revealed a 56.3% increase in sexual offences reported at Alex Police Station, reflecting a hard-to-swallow pill of how rampantly sexual crimes have increased throughout two second-quarter statistic findings within the community.
Selibi encouraged introspection as a way forward, positing how important it was for people to grapple with issues of sex, gender and identity as a sound strategy for tackling GBVF in the Alex community. With a greater understanding of self, Selibi feels that fewer men and women would find themselves being perpetrators of GBVF and sexual crimes.
“Where we should start is with identity: who are we as a people and who are we as people of different sexes – meaning biologically, male and female,” said Selibi. “The problem is do we even understand the chemical composition of hormones in peoples’ bodies?
Also read: ENSafrica tackles GBV and patriarchy
Selibi emphasised that respect for other people’s lives and bodies was a journey that ought to begin at home, during early childhood development before matters reach the response level of courts.
“As much as the courts have a role to play when something has happened already, remembering that GBV behaviour is an aftermath, a result of something.”
She also spoke about how organisations such as Masiphephe work to prevent and respond to GBVF cases as they arise from the community.
Selibi expressed that there were many organisations tackling GBVF in Alex and that most of them fall short when it comes to funding, or meaningful collaboration, contributing to the community-crippling statistics.
Follow us on our Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok pages. Join our WhatsApp group for any story ideas you may have.
Related article: Men urged to take up anti-GBV Champions for Change course
