There is some debate about the best term to use for those who have experienced GBV (see Thompson, 2000), with some preferring the term 'victim', others using 'survivor', and others perhaps preferring a different term altogether. There is insufficient space here to discuss the debate in detail, but I have attempted to use the term 'survivor' throughout, to highlight their agency in processing and managing their experience of violence. However, I acknowledge that this may not be applicable to all those who have experienced GBV. 2 This article predominantly focuses on sexual violence and IPV when discussing GBV, largely because these are the forms of violence most commonly discussed in literature on the issue. However, the author acknowledges the very wide range of acts falling within this category of violence, as well as the lack of research and literature on such acts. These include verbal harassment, physical attacks by strangers, denial of access to health and education services (Dolan, 2014), legislated inequality, homelessness or being denied shelter (James et al., 2016), and lack of access to legal redress or justice (Crehan and McCleary-Sills, 2015).
Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a serious issue in many countries around the world, and this is particularly true for South Africa. Many current interventions to address this phenomenon have, however, had little success in reducing the rates of such violence. This study looked at masculinities-focused interventions as a method for addressing GBV, through a qualitative investigation of the One Man Can (OMC) programme in the Western Cape province of South Africa, based on the observation of workshops, and interviews and focus groups with workshop participants and facilitators. A number of concerns related to the implementation of the intervention are detailed. The first is a lack of awareness of the intersectional nature of masculinities, which risks implying that it is only individual men who need to change, rather than systemic patriarchy and gender inequality. Second, the workshops focus almost exclusively on poor men of colour, which can reinforce the existing stigma these men face in racist societies, such as South Africa. Finally, the workshops use a narrow definition of GBV, focusing almost entirely on violence against women, which excludes violence against other marginalised groups, such as the LGBTQI+ community, boys and men. Thus, the workshops require a rethink of their content and implementation, in order to better contribute to efforts aimed at reducing GBV within larger gender and sexual justice goals.
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