GBV is unacceptable – prisoners to the youth
The Department of Correctional Services held a massive GBV programme at the Krugersdorp Prison.
With the focus on 16 Days of Activism, the Department of Correctional Services held a programme to educate and empower many of the inmates and the public about the effects of gender-based violence (GBV) on women and children.
The event took place at the Krugersdorp Prison’s Management Area last week. Various stakeholders in the programme included government departments and NGOs, police in the district, Kagiso Green Door safety house and even non-governmental organisations like the Basadi Ba Mogale Against GBV, Elinye iThuba drug rehab and Rekopane.
Correctional Services communication officer Godfrey Monyai also confirmed that the main objective of the event was to educate the inmates and attendees about male violence against women and girls and to inform and influence government policy about gender-based violence. To be able to make them aware of GBV as a widespread problem in South Africa, impacting many women and children. According to the Department of Correctional Services psychologist Joyce Maswi, GBV can also be described as an act that happens to both genders and can happen in both the private and public spheres.
The GBV session also addressed offenders and perpetrators of GBV. Some of the inmates were given sessional talks as part of their rehabilitation programmes by the different NGOs, who all carried one essential message, ‘All men need to stand up and protect women and girls’.
There were shared solutions on how to reduce or end GBV, which is to report all cases of rapes, sexual assault, or any form of violence to a local police station.
One offender who is a perpetrator of GBV, Tebogo Mokoena, said those who have committed crimes against women and children should teach the next generation of the youth that GBV is an unacceptable act to commit no matter the circumstances that a man may find himself in.
Rather we start a conversation to bring about awareness around the problem, hold each other accountable, and stand against rape culture to minimise the stats under the umbrella of GBV. Tebogo was among 50 offenders who are undergoing rehabilitation programmes that deal with GBV-related crimes who attended the session.
