‘Eradicating GBV before it starts’

With regards to 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the Father A Nation organisation will host Gender-Based Violence (GBV) workshops in local hotspots.
The campaign, 16 Days of Activism, is from November 25 to December 10.

Founder of the organisation, Craig Wilkinson, said the sessions produce lively debate and rich, authentic personal stories of both struggle and triumph.

He said it will engage between 30 and 100 men at a time in open and honest conversation and provide training in positive, healthy masculinity.

Wilkinson said many men and women in SA grow up without the presence of a father or positive male figure, saying that this often results in paternal wounds and destructive beliefs about masculinity, with young men looking to figures such as gangsters, abusers, or absent fathers as role models.

He said this highlights the critical role of a positive male figure in shaping the minds of boys and men in the country.

“Our philosophy at Father A Nation is that if we can heal men, we can heal the world. We focus on working with men to become excellent fathers, mentors, role models and just good men. The solution to GBV is to stop it in its tracks, men are the primary perpetrators of physical and sexual GBV. While it’s critical to create awareness and support victims; ideally, we don’t want victims at all and the way to stop that happening is to stop wounded men from being abusive,” said Wilkinson.

He added that GBV can be stopped in its tracks by teaching, inspiring and healing men.
Wilkinson said they work throughout SA with boys and men at schools, universities, communities, and organisations in both the public and private sectors.

He added that they meet these men where they are, from taverns to corporations and sports fields.

“Over 300,000 men have gone through our programmes over the past 10 years, either through soccer tournaments, tavern conversations, dialogues or workshops in communities and camps. The engagements are highly effective in helping men understand what GBV is, examine their own lives and provide them with the knowledge and motivation to turn their lives around. Healthy masculinity never abuses,” he said.

Wilkinson added that providing men with a platform to share their struggles and motivation to be better men goes a long way toward helping them to be a force for good.

“We look deeply into the reasons why men abuse with the understanding that a reason is not an excuse,” said Wilkinson.

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