With the uptick in violent crime involving young people, leaders are trying to control and raise better men for the future.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has engaged with hundreds of young men and boys on the prevention and combating of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).
The Presidential Indaba was held at Maponya Mall in Soweto, Gauteng, on Tuesday morning to promote the focus on boys and young men, instead of women and girls only.
This follows a question about why there was a focus on women: Women’s Day, Women’s March, women's empowerment, girls’ programmes, and girls’ spaces.
The indaba was also aimed at addressing the crisis of violence against women and girls that is being perpetuated by men.
The focus of the programme was to reimagine and reinvent masculinities in sensitive, kind, respectful, accountable, expressive, and nurturing ways.
Addressing the dialogue, Ramaphosa emphasised the need to groom young men, including boys, into a healthy, sensible, and safe environment where they can express themselves freely without being aggressive and defensive towards their communities.
He said the issue of absent fathers was one of the greatest tragedies for the nation, as only a third of South Africa’s children live with both parents; some live with their mothers or neither parent.
Ramaphosa said aspects such as sexual activities, bullying, violence against gay or gender non-conforming young men, and engaging in unsafe sex were among the factors that fuelled pressure on men to develop aggressive behaviours.
"We have convened this dialogue because we recognise that we must engage men and boys separately from women and girls," he said.
He said the conversation was about the pressure of young people dropping out of school to earn a living because family members rely on them financially.
He mentioned some of the pressures were from family, relationships, friends at school and places of higher learning, peer groups, and society as a whole.
He said there must be an open and honest conversation about what contributed to the current situation of gender-based violence, adding that the young men’s dialogue was very important, as it would focus on ending violence against women and children.
"To end gender-based violence, we must focus on prevention. We must stop this violence before it even happens. We need to talk about patriarchal attitudes and practices.
"We need to challenge toxic masculinity, which is the idea that being a man means one must dominate and demean women," he said.
He said the "what about the boys" question would bring government, the private sector, academia, civil society, the media, and other stakeholders together in collaboration towards raising a nation of good men.
"We are correct to ask the question, ‘What about the boys?’, because young men and boys must not be left behind.
"They must be part of our journey towards a South Africa free of gender-based violence. They must be encouraged and supported to be change-makers in society," he said.
Ramaphosa stated that young men and boys were vulnerable to recruitment by gangs and pressure to take part in criminal activities.
"Many young men may not have positive role models," he said. He further said the new generation of men was respectful and masculine in a positive and sensitive manner.
"They would never think of a woman as less than a man. They would never think about raising their hand against a woman," he said.
Furthermore, he thanked the Department of Basic Education (DBE), Primestars, SterKinekor, and all the partners of the programme for the initiative to develop young men and boys in the country.
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