Men stand up against abuse

KwaThema – Members of Syndicate Social Club have joined the fight women and child abuse.

The men who have been together for 30 years say they are concerned about the growing number of women and children who face abuse.

President of the club, Jabulane Mtshweni, says they are concerned about the daily reports about abused women and children.

“It is even more worrying that they are abused by the people who are supposed to love and protect them.

“We are saying enough is enough. We cannot continue to be quiet and pretend that all is well when our children are killed.

“We are saying this must stop; we are not happy about this.

“Our children are not safe and free to walk on the streets to and from school because of the perpetrators,” he says.

Jabulane says those responsible must know that if they are identified, they will be handed over to the police.

“One is too many deaths; a man should not abuse to voice his dissatisfaction. If you feel disrespected, be the bigger man and walk away to clear your head.

“We are calling on young men to change their behaviour and stop trying to solve their problems through violence,” he says.

Jabulane says as a social club they work closely with different organisations in the community.

“It breaks my heart to see more centres for abused children and women being opened.

“We still have women being killed by their spouses and children being raped and violated by their fathers.

“This shouldn’t be the case in 2017. We should be building schools and universities instead of these centres.

“The change we want to see in our community begins with us – we will teach our children and grandchildren to protect and love women,” he says.