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01 December 2020 | Story Bonolo Mahlatsi | Photo Supplied
Bonolo Mahlatsi is a master’s student in Sociology at the University of the Free State.

South Africa finds itself dealing with a pandemic within a pandemic. On 11 November, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared five days of mourning for victims of COVID-19 and gender-based violence, from 25 to 29 November 2020. Many see it as a bold move and as a win for efforts to address gender-based violence, but it is rather disappointing. Ironically, the mourning period falls within the 16 days of activism against GBV. 

Almost daily we mourn the lives of women lost at the hands of men. However, now that we are living in unfamiliar territory, we also mourn the lives lost due to COVID-19. Both are pandemics with different characteristics facing the country. The major difference is that COVID-19 is new and in some ways beyond our control. GBV, on the other hand, did not just emerge overnight. It is the symptom of patriarchy that is intentionally designed and reinforced by systems and people to preserve the dominance of men at the expense of women and gender non-conforming people. 

The President’s announcement makes GBV a shadow pandemic compared to COVID-19, even though GBV has claimed more lives, created more disruption, and lasted much longer. 

South African culture allows GBV and often encourages it

We need to unmask the fact that GBV exists as a pandemic because South African culture allows it and often encourages it. A recent case in the Free State shows this. A police captain at the Mafube police station was recently arrested for revictimising a rape survivor while he was conducting his ‘investigation’. He further manipulated the perpetrator’s girlfriend into having sex with him by promising to release her boyfriend on bail. This officer was still allowed to work in the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit, despite having a trail of rape accusations against him. It further shows the indifference of the police and systems that should be enforcing law and order, not violating it. Mourning GBV alongside COVID-19 sends a message to the captain in Mafube police station and many other perpetrators that GBV will always be secondary and not important enough to have special impactful efforts directed at it.

Can’t treat them the same 

We can’t treat the two pandemics in the same way – one noticeable difference is how we have treated them in terms of reporting and response time. The COVID-19 response was fast, awareness was created quickly and effectively, government accountability has improved. More active and robust digital and media strategies are also being used to keep the public informed and to fight the spread of COVID-19. All these are strategies that should have been adopted long ago in the fight against GBV, particularly the sensitisation and awareness strategies. 

My concern is that, after the GBV mourning period, it will be back to business as usual. Women will still be violated and live in fear. Furthermore, the mourning period takes five days away from the activism period, which I find to be a way of shifting the focus away from GBV. We have also seen from previous years that the situation on the ground still remains unchanged after the activism period. For instance, statistics revealed by the South African Police Service (SAPS) showed that a woman is murdered every three hours in South Africa; an alarming rate, which is higher than the global average.

COVID-19 presented an opportunity

Fortunately, or unfortunately, COVID-19 has presented us with an opportunity to reconfigure and redesign our society to be safe for everyone. It is time that we address the lack of sensitivity towards GBV, especially because there is no society free of it. Interventions are needed to ensure that women do not return to the ‘normal’ of being violated. The underlying causes of GBV need to be addressed through response efforts supported by policy development. Most importantly, men’s attitudes towards women and girls need to transform, which will assist in stopping the perpetuating violence against women. If GBV was treated as the pandemic it is, women would not have to live in fear. If efforts could be put together to fight COVID-19, the same should apply to GBV. 

 

Opinion article by Bonolo Mahlatsi, master’s student in Sociology, University of the Free State.

News Archive

UFS hosts tenth SASRIM conference filled with highlights
2016-08-23

Description: SASRIM conference book Tags: SASRIM conference book

A new OSM book entitled Musics of the Free State:
Reflections on a Musical Past, Present and Future
will be launched on 25 August 2016 as part of the
South African Society for Research in Music’s
conference, hosted by the UFS.

Photo: Supplied

Bridging the gap between music thinking and music making. This is one of many aims of the South African Society for Research in Music (SASRIM), whose 2016 annual conference will be hosted by the Odeion School of Music (OSM) at the University of the Free State (UFS). It marks the tenth anniversary of SASRIM and the congress, from 25 to 27 August 2016, features many highlights. This includes the Arnold van Wyk Centenary Gala Concert and the launch of the OSM book Musics of the Free State: Reflections on a Musical Past, Present and Future. Keynote speakers will be Stephanus Muller from Stellenbosch University and Guthrie Ramsey from the University of Pennsylvania.

Society encourages multiple facets of music research
Research forms a crucial part of music and therefore SASRIM looks at perspectives on thinking and performing the boundary between music thinking and music making. The society also encourages the submission of a wide variety of proposals, including those exploring alternative formats, multiple facets of music research and practice on the African continent, and disciplinary intersections. Contributions that reflect on the first decade of the society’s existence or any aspect related to Van Wyk are especially welcome.

New OSM book receives sterling international review

Musics of the Free State is a nuanced and
richly endowed study of musical practices in
South Africa, which deserves the international
dissemination it will now receive”.

“It will deeply repay close reading far beyond Bloemfontein.” That was some of the praise that Musics of the Free State received from Prof Harry White from the University of Dublin in the International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music 47 (1). According to him the book, edited by Prof Martina Viljoen from the OSM, “is a nuanced and richly endowed study of musical practices in South Africa, which deserves the international dissemination it will now receive”.
The book will be launched on 25 August 2016 in the Odeion foyer after the Arnold van Wyk Centenary Gala Concert.

Gala concert commemorate celebrated SA composer
The gala concert on 25 August 2016 at 18:00 will be recited by OSM staff members and the OSM Camerata in the Odeion Auditorium. The programme for a special concert, presented in collaboration with Fine Music, has been curated to celebrate the centenary of the birth of South African composer, Arnold van Wyk. Tickets are available at Computicket or at the door.

The concert, which will also serve as the annual OSM Dean’s concert, will be broadcasted live by Fine Music Radio.

See the following links:

More information about SASRIM 2016.
To listen to the broadcast of the Arnold van Wyk Centenary Gala Concert (then click the button to listen live).
A complete review by Prof White on Musics of the Free State will be available soon.
Copies of Musics of the Free State can be purchased from the OSM at OSM@ufs.ac.za.

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