Male teachers talk about gender violence: “Zulu men demand respect”

Abstract

In South Africa, the centrality of gender‐based violence in the spread of HIV/AIDS has led to many educational efforts to address it. The particular social values that male teachers hold around gender‐based violence have been less examined. By focusing on African male teachers' understandings of gender‐based violence, this paper highlights the complex and contested processes through which meaning of violence is made. We argue that without addressing the specific teacher realities the interrogation of unequal gender relations might be inhibited in South African schools.

Keywords:

• male teachers
• gender violence
• rural schools
• South Africa

Acknowledgements

This paper draws from a project, “Teachers and communities addressing gender‐based violence”, a study within the research niche area, “Every voice counts: Teacher development and rural education in the age of AIDS”. In this paper we are interested in exploring how teachers in the context of rural education can be used as resources in addressing gender‐based violence – a key co‐factor in the spread of HIV/AIDS. This paper is based on work supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF). The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding and support of the NRF. Opinion, findings, conclusions and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and, therefore, the NRF does not accept any liability in regard thereto.

Notes

1. ADAPT provides counselling and support services to victims of abuse: women, men, young people and the elderly in South Africa. ADAPT recognizes that while men are the primary perpetrators of gender‐based violence (GBV), they also need to be central in the solution and provides gender sensitivity training for men. Engenderhealth is an international organization with a base in South Africa that attempts to deliver quality health care in the world's poorest communities. Since 1995, EngenderHealth's work in South Africa has focused prominently on changing men's attitudes and behaviours to reduce gender‐based violence as well as launching Men As Partners^® (MAP) to challenge men's attitudes and behaviours. Sonke Gender Justice Network works with men, women and children in achieving gender equality and preventing gender‐based violence. The One Man Can is the organizations flagship project.

2. The Research Niche Area “Every voice counts: Teacher development and rural education in the age of AIDS (2007–2011)” is the umbrella for various study areas, such as “Teachers and communities addressing gender‐based violence”, of which Deevia Bhana, Naydene de Lange and Claudia Mitchell are the team members.

3. The project team for “Learning Together: Towards an integrated participatory approach to youth, gender and HIV/AIDS interventions in rural KwaZulu‐Natal (2004–2006)” was Naydene de Lange, Claudia Mitchell, Relebohile Moletsane, Jean Stuart, Thabisile Buthelezi, Myra Taylor and Fikile Mazibuko.