Sally Matthews
THE STATE of the Nation address occurred amid a national outcry and introspection on gender-based violence. Public debate around the murder of Anene Booysen had not yet abated when South Africa awoke to news of the killing of another woman, Reeva Steenkamp, shot dead, unintentionally he claims, by Oscar Pistorius.
President Jacob Zuma’s speech also took place against the backdrop of the pink fluffiness that characterises Valentine’s Day, with all its messages of romantic love and harmony, which sound hollow alongside the violence and bloodshed that characterise many “romantic” relationships.
Two of Zuma’s themes focused particularly on women: improving the status of women generally, and gender-based violence. Zuma focused on the need for new laws and better law enforcement. Amid talk of legalistic and institutional responses to gender-based violence, Zuma made a small but important comment – he spoke about the violence against women campaign being “an every day campaign”. What does this mean?
We know that violence against women is an everyday occurrence. Women are raped, beaten, threatened and belittled all the time, often without the knowledge of those around them and often without the condemnation of those who do know.
Because violence is an everyday phenomenon, we do indeed need to campaign every day against it. But what would be the nature of the necessary every day campaign? It is not at all clear that the new laws and stricter law enforcement Zuma highlights in his speech will actually reduce violence against women.
Many call for harsher sentences for rapists and murderers, but there is little evidence that such sentences act as a deterrent to such crimes.
Some look to the establishment of new institutions, such as the National Council on Gender-Based Violence which Zuma mentions will change things, but the creation of such institutions may do nothing more than make the government appear to be doing something.
All of the above – stronger laws, stricter sentences, protest events and new institutions – may well form a part of such an “every day campaign”, but for such a campaign to be effective, we also need to think carefully about the everyday actions and attitudes that form the foundation on which gender-based violence is built.
As many commentators have pointed out, the men who rape and kill are not strange monsters with a constitutional make-up that is different from other people. There is no murder or rape gene that drives some to kill or rape, while the rest of us look on in horror. Rather, the attitudes that help make such behaviours possible are present in many.
The belief that a woman is a passive creature, to be seduced, pampered and looked after may result in high sales of furry pink teddy bears on Valentine’s Day but may also conceivably play a part in some men’s inability to believe that a woman’s “no” ought to be heeded.
If a woman is passive, weak and infantile, can she really know her own mind? The belief that a woman’s unfaithfulness is to be blamed on the man who “stole” her implies a view of women as unable to take action independently and as being possessions that can be destroyed should their owners no longer need or want them.
The belief that a woman ought to be looked after by a male “breadwinner” can make a man think that if he cannot provide for his family he is entitled to take not only his own life but those of his family members as well. The belief that a woman is primarily a wife and a mother may make us treasure “good” women on Mother’s Day, but may also play a role in making some men think it appropriate to discipline or despise women who refuse to define themselves in this way.
I am not suggesting that buying women toys for Valentine’s Day or thinking a man must be the “breadwinner” is akin to raping or murdering. However, many actions and attitudes we find acceptable, even commendable, are attitudes also used to justify the abuse and murder of women.
If we are to take seriously this phrase in Zuma’s speech we need to think seriously about everyday ideas and practices that fan the flames of gender-based violence.
l Matthews is a senior lecturer at the Rhodes University politics department. She writes in her personal capacity. This article was provided by Genderlinks.