Reverend Theo Khanyile said society's idea about masculinity prevents male GBV victims from seeking help
Reverend Theo Khanyile, an activist fighting for male victims of gender-based violence, has called on authorities to deal harshly with a Mpumalanga woman accused of killing her partner.
Ntombenhle Mthethwa, a 33-year-old woman from Wesselton in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, is expected to appear in the Ermelo Magistrate’s Court for her bail application next Tuesday. She allegedly stabbed her 37-year-old partner to death a few days ago.
It is alleged that after killing the man, she chopped off his body parts and stashed them inside plastic bags.
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The killings reportedly took place following a heated argument between the two partners.
“Firstly, I would like to compliment the police for acting swiftly. There’s a parallel concern about how male victims of domestic violence is treated and, at times, ignored. Data indicates that men are less likely to be killed by their female partners. Male victims of gender-based violence do exist and often get ridiculed and then feel ashamed of being called a coward, and their pain goes unnoticed,” said Khanyile.
Male GBV victims often don’t get help
He said society’s idea about masculinity prevents male victims from seeking help, and institutions that are there to assist both males and females may not take the matter of a man as seriously as that reported by a woman.
“The failure of ignoring women’s and men’s pain until they are driven to fatal measures is simultaneously neglecting the real vulnerabilities of men. It creates a policing system that is blind and largely only able to be reactive rather than proactive.”
He said society in general must learn not to ignore the pain and the suffering of men because it doesn’t fit with traditional acceptable gender norms.
ALSO READ: Protection orders and police ‘failing victims of GBV’
He added that the justice system needs to take threats of violence seriously because protection orders are proving to be insufficient.
“More forms of violence experienced by men are more invisible than any other forms.”
Murder often committed by people close to eachother
Acting Mpumalanga police commissioner Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi has expressed his concern over murders that are perpetuated by people who are either in a relationship or known to the family members.
“When the time comes for the release of crime statistics, we often experience that cases of murder are committed by people who are close to each other.
“This is where we urge communities to work collaboratively with us to prevent similar incidents. Such incidents reflect moral decay in society,” he said.
