Addressing the men's conference held at the George Phadagi Hall in Thohoyandou on Saturday, 6 August, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr Ronald Lamola, said that to deal with gender-based violence, young boys needed to be given love and guidance from an early age.
"We can win the war against gender-based violence if we start teaching boys while they are still young, so they grow up knowing that they have to love and respect girls and women," said Lamola.
The conference was organised by the Real Man Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that plays an active part in fighting gender-based violence by encouraging men to take on a more responsible role within their families and the communities they live in. Various speakers, such as Men for Change, marriage counsellors and pastors, made their points during the conference.
"Gender-based violence seems to be on the increase in the Vhembe region. We applaud the organisers of this conference, because it is through platforms such as these that men are able to speak out about their own ideas, challenges and problems at home under one roof. I hope that the men who attend these conferences will be able to find solutions on how to better deal with their family situations and thereby end gender-based violence," Lamola said, further warning those who make themselves guilty of this crime that they will be arrested and prosecuted severely for their deeds.
Mr Calvin Nengudza, the chairperson of the Real Man Foundation, told the gathering that he started the organisation in November 2020 after seeing how many women and children were victims of men who inflicted pain on them. Their aim is to stop the abuse and teach men to man up.
"Our organisation has been in existence just over one year, but we have already made significant and notable progress in the fight against women and child abuse. We have robust and informative talks with both young boys and girls and give them the opportunity to share their stories and weaknesses. We want to equip them with the necessary values and knowledge to assist them in situations where they are faced with violence," said Nengudza.