Op-Ed: Herd Solidarity – a vaccine for our GBV pandemic

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With any pandemic, the main concern lies in finding a treatment. And, while the search is furiously on for a Covid-19 vaccine, there is general consensus that a major part of the solution for the GBV pandemic has already been identified. It lies in one simple word: Respect.

This Women’s Month, the focus regrettably but rightfully falls on gender-based violence during lockdown. But, unlike Covid-19, the GBV pandemic already has an effective treatment. And our schools and institutions of higher learning have a vital role to play in administering it.

The first is that they both affect everyone. Although South Africa’s femicide rate is about five times the global average, it is by no means a phenomenon unique to our country. The UN refers to a “shadow pandemic” plaguing all of the 90 or so countries that opted for lockdown, as everywhere women with violent partners are isolated, separated from people and resources that could assist them.

Respect is, however, not a remedy that can be forcefully injected into an ailing society. Respect for oneself and for others has to be patiently cultivated from an early age in order to become part of a population’s DNA. We have a window of opportunity to guide them. And here lies the crux: Respect is a lesson that should not only be taught. It should also be shown.

 

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