If castration is not the solution to GBV, what is?
I nearly didn’t write a column this week. Between the horrific stories of the Krugersdorp rapes and the lackluster ANC policy conference, I struggled to muster up the physical and emotional energy to write something.
However, the hell the eight Krugersdorp women must be experiencing after they were gang raped stayed on my mind. I knew that they do not have the “luxury” of switching off and I therefore owed it to them to write something.
Yet, I am really lost for words. What incredibly cruelty, what total loss of humanity, what callousness must be part of these men to have done these evil deeds? This was not some moment of drunken violence (not that that is ever an excuse), but it seems like a carefully planned attack. Just think about it: they sat around and discussed the logistics of how to rape these young women!
Understandably, the event rattled many at the ANC policy conference. I watched the Presidents’ face turn serious with concern as Minister Cele showed him a text – presumably with the news of the Krugersdorp rapes (the news broke minutes later). Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi - now Minister of Home Affairs - later broke down as he recalled a reconstruction he had to do on an eight year old girl after a violent rape.
The Social and Transformation Committee, chaired by Lindiwe Sisulu spent two out of the three hours discussing gender-based violence (GBV) issues. Listening to Sisulu’s report later that evening, I could see her own distress and anger.
The committee proposed that men who are accused of rape should not be entitled to bail or parole once sentenced. “They should not be re-integrated into society”, she said. She also talked about school curricula that should teach boys “how to behave to women”. Then, she raised the issue of chemical castration. She mentioned that there was a push for surgical castration, but that they agreed to “softened it” to chemical castration.
Let me admit that for a few seconds I actually wondered if this might a good idea. Every time I read about another woman, girl or baby being raped, I feel a rage inside me that wants to throw all rationality aside. I understand why people – especially loved ones – would take the law into their own hands.
When I think of the indescribable pain and emotional damage these women, children and babies have and will continue to endure, I want to shout: “Hell, yes! Castrate them! Use blunt knives! Don’t use painkillers and do it in front of TV cameras! Do whatever it takes to make this pandemic of violence against us women stop.”
Yet, I know that is not the answer.
Cruelty can never be stopped with cruelty.
Yet, we have to find a way to stop this. We have to find a deterrent that will make men fearful of the penalties for hitting, raping, and violating women.
Nelsa Libertad Curbelo, a former nun and street gang mediator in Ecuador says: “the opposite of violence is not non-violence, it is power. When one has moral power, power of conviction, the power to do good, one doesn’t need violence.”
Our state has the power – even if it is not always the moral power. They also seem to have the power of conviction, yet the violence against women and girls continues to grow unabated.
I agree with the ANC that boys need to be taught how to behave towards girls - as do the headmasters and teachers at schools who all too frequently are part of the rape and abuse culture.
If chemical castration could work – we should have a serious debate about it. Yet, it is not a permanent solution and pills or injections must be taken or administered frequently (up to once a month) – so how would one enforce compliancy?
According to Lindsey Henson from Lawyers Against Abuse, the biggest deterrent for men against rape is not only the severity of the penalty but the fact that they will be caught and prosecuted.
The problem is that in South Africa only 8% of reported rapes result in convictions. EIGHT PERCENT!! Added to that, we also know that a very small percentage of rapes are actually reported.
Despite all the lip service paid by government, the police remain totally under-resourced when it comes to gender- based violence. In the Krugersdorp case, massive resources were deployed and many men (hopefully the right ones) were arrested within 24 hours. However, there are thousands of rape survivors who never see any form of justice.
I realise that the prevention of GBV is a complex issue. Yet, far too often we use complexity as an excuse for inaction.
Let’s start somewhere.
Let’s begin by giving significantly more resources and training to the police to put these evil perpetrators behind bars. Let’s also change the law so that they cannot get back into society and re-offend.
In order to reduce or even stop GBVin this country, we have to send out a clear message: “If you rape or abuse a woman in South Africa, you will be caught and you will get a lengthy sentence with no options of parole.”
To the women of Krugersdorp: I can’t imagine what you are going through, but know that many of us are crying with you. I - and many others - are holding you in our thoughts and our prayers. May you get the strength to deal with this terrible ordeal and may you at least see these evil men behind bars.