Posted on 12/01/2004 10:04:12 AM PST by aculeus
JOHANNESBURG (AlertNet) – For many in South Africa, being a “real man” means sleeping around and calling the shots, but HIV activists say this macho way of thinking is fueling the country’s sky-high AIDS rates and domestic violence.
New studies find that growing frustration among men since the end of apartheid has led to greater aggression, and sexual violence is in turn increasing HIV infections, with women bearing the brunt.
For many young men, being a man means “no condoms, make babies, have many partners, I call the shots,” said Charles Kekama, who works with unemployed youth in townships near Pretoria, South Africa’s administrative capital.
One in four South African women aged between 20 and 24 is HIV-positive, according to a study published in June 2004.
In the largest study of its kind, a national survey of 11,900 young people by the Reproductive Health Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand found that women accounted for 77 percent of the infections among young people aged 15 to 24.
In another alarming finding, nearly one-third of young women who took part in the survey said they were forced into their first sexual experience.
Coercion and inter-generational sex increase the gender disparity in infection, the report said.
The South African police say there are 145 rapes a day -- or six an hour -- among a population of nearly 45 million.
This is the largest number in any country in the world.
EPIDEMICS OF VIOLENCE AND HIV
South Africa also has the highest number of inhabitants with HIV – between 4.1 million and 5.6 million, according to a July 2004 report by the U.N. AIDS body, UNAIDS.
UNAIDS estimated that HIV prevalence among South Africans aged 15 to 49 was 21.5 percent in 2003.
Experts agree that South Africa’s twin epidemics of HIV/AIDS and violence against women and children are rooted in the national concept of masculinity.
“Many men feel they don’t have a role to play in society,” said Nhlanhla Mkhize, a lecturer in psychology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Erosion of the traditional African concept of the man as respected and respectful family breadwinner began in the early 1900s, when millions of men moved to the cities seeking jobs in the gold and diamond mines.
This continues today through mass unemployment, which is officially at 28 percent, but is probably closer to 40 percent.
In the harsh cities and single-sex hostels, away from family and community, new forms of male identity emerged.
The local Zulu and Xhosa languages coined a word for this new man -- “indlavini” -- which means someone who is violent, reckless, and disrespectful of elders and tradition.
Mkhize said the construction of manhood was influenced by a combination of forced male migration, marginalisation, poverty, violence and being uprooted from family and community.
All of these were typical of the apartheid era, and shaped a concept of masculinity that was based on aggressiveness, risk-taking, sexual prowess and dominance over women.
LOST PRIVILEGES
Since apartheid ended in 1994, both black and white men have faced an erosion of their privileged social space.
A study among male students and teachers at high schools in the eastern coastal province of KwaZulu Natal found that white males feel threatened by the advancement of blacks and women.
The study’s author, Professor Graham Lindegger -- a lecturer at the School of Psychology at Natal University – said black males felt irrelevant because of poverty, unemployment and women’s empowerment.
“Men and boys feel a bit hopeless,” Lindegger said.
Many elements of this troubled perception of manhood -- heterosexuality, promiscuity, risk-taking and superiority over women -- transcend race, culture and class, says the study.
Perpetuated by the media, this masculine identity becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and South Africa is grappling with the consequences.
“We have a messed-up masculine identity in South Africa,” said Mmatshilo Motsei, founder of ADAPT, a leading NGO that works to prevent domestic abuse.
Since it was established 12 years ago in Johannesburg’s Alexandra township, ADAPT has successfully pioneered men’s involvement to stop gender-based violence.
Its projects have included an adopt-a-father scheme, a Best Father competition, a men’s prison programme, and mentorship and counselling projects.
In late November 2004, South Africa launched 16 days of activism on the theme of “No Violence Against Women”, encouraging men and boys to re-think gender roles.
The Youth Development Skills programme of the Centre for the Study of AIDS at the University of Pretoria works with unemployed youth in the townships of Mamelodi, Atteridgeville and in central Pretoria.
Its team of 20 peer educators has led workshops on AIDS and gender relations with some 6,000 youth since 2000 and trained 1,000 as peer educators.
’WHAT MAKES A GOOD MAN’
“We talk about what makes a good man and a good father,” said 21-year-old peer educator Charles Kekama.
The Youth Development Skills workshops show how casual sex, unprotected sex and forced sex put men and women at risk of HIV infection.
“By the end of the week, we see changes,” said Kekama.
In a surprising twist, South African President Thabo Mbeki lashed out at both UNAIDS and local gender activists who linked the high incidence of rape to the high prevalence of HIV.
In a weekly letter he published on the Internet and in an address to parliament, President Mbeki said this link was inspired by a racist perception of African males as “violent sexual predators” and of “South Africa as the “world capital of all the negative things that affect all humanity”.
In the past, Mbeki has doubted the existence of HIV and the efficacy of antiretroviral treatment.
Paradoxically, the government funds and promotes many programmes to change this negative construct of masculinity.
Since 2002, the Department of Health hosts Men in Partnership Against AIDS, a nationwide movement to involve more men in HIV/AIDS prevention and care.
“We pushed gender high on our agenda,” said Liz Floyd, director of the AIDS Programme in Gauteng province.
The Programme works with 60,000 men – residents of single-sex hostels, mine workers, taxi drivers, and prisoners -- to change reckless and violent behaviour.
“We need to engage with the good, humanistic traditional African values, without the excess of male power over women, and translate it into an urban setting,” Floyd said.
Tackling deep-rooted gender perceptions is key to win the fight against AIDS.
“Besides deep changes in society, (we need) a deeply spiritual transformation in the identity of men,” Lindegger said.
© 1998-2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
If it didn't mean being a raging butt pirate there would not be such a large problem.
> growing frustration among men since the end of apartheid
Errrrmmmm.... what? Are they suggesting that Apartheid was lower-stress?
Say what?? I'd be interested to know more specifically about what constituted the "activism" and what steps were advised for re-thinking those gender roles.
The problem (well, one of the problems) with this sort of approach is that it won't reach the people it's supposed to reach. And if the solution were as easy as asking males to stop violence, this could have all been resolved a long time ago. This is a sad article.
Yep, good ol' Nelson Mandela's South Africa. Fast becoming the Zimbabwe of the horn. They'll be longing for the return of Botha if this keeps up.
DING! No maore calls. We have a winner
It's hard to say. It's really hard to say. This puzzling article is heaped so high with generalizations that it's overflowing -- and like a garbage truck on the freeway, pieces of rubbish are blowing off every which way.
And again, we see the classic model of the African leader (Big Man syndrome): Total disconnect from reality in refusing to believe in AIDS (or the drugs that treat it); and claiming that reports detailing the causes of various social ills are actually racist attacks on the country (and by inference, his own prowess as leader).
Well, as recent history has shown, when you've lived with authoritarianism long enough, a sudden influx of freedom without a period of adaptation can be a terrible thing. Heck, even lettign a convict out of years of detention in a bad prison can mess up his mind...
All of these were typical of the apartheid era, and shaped a concept of masculinity that was based on aggressiveness, risk-taking, sexual prowess and dominance over women.
Amazing. The liberals fought like hell to get rid of apartheid--great riddance to it--but now that they have been successful, they have no better notion of how to fix the resulting social problems than to blame apartheid.
Have they considered that male sexual dominance over women is a widespread feature of tribal cultures? No, they're too blinded by their politically-correct, orientalist (and ironically paternalistic) vision of the Noble ex-Savage, ready to step out of his shantytown and into the corporate high-rise to show the ignorant white people how to run a civilization.
Well, the liberals got what they wanted out of South Africa. The "DIVEST" buttons sit in the drawer, next to the LiveAid ticket stubs and some chips of rubble from Belgrade. Was it good for them, too?
No wonder it galls the liberals that the U.S. is so committed to building the post-Saddam Iraq.
I went to my wifes HS reunion 5-6 years ago. A black male classmate did some missionary work in one of the countries over there and was telling some of the stuff that goes on over there. Although this practice is dying out, in many areas it is till commonly practiced for the father of the groom to sleep with the grooms bride the night before the wedding. He also could not believe how the women do all the work in the fields while the men sit around talking about hunting etc.
Fox news said this morning that Sub-Sahara Africa has a 70% infection rate... I'm not sure if they said the total population or just women. But still 70%!!!
The end of apartheid has almost destroyed Africa. To see and hear about all the starving and suffering that is going on is shameful. The liberals only have one solution. It is the same solution they have to all problems. Throw money at it.
Soon China will be doing all the farming and Africa will still be starving.
Are nations eligible for the Darwin Award?
You deserve the award for the statement of the decade. I could not agree more with you. This silence from liberals is literally killing Africa. In about 50 years, there will be no more Africa left, other than in museums, books and on film.
I think the new world order wants to return Africa to what it was 500 years ago. It sure looks like the people are doomed and I wonder how much of it Red China will be allowed to take over.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.