Gender based violence : the effect of gender based violence on men in Clermont township.

Abstract

Gender based violence still remains an international public health and human rights issue and a concern to many. Very few studies have been undertaken to address the impact of gender based violence on men. The aim of this dissertation is to try and fill this gap by exploring gender based violence against men in the Clermont Township using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The quantitative method used was a survey conducted with 100 men, and the qualitative method used was in-depth interviews with 20 men in Clermont Township. Consistent with previous research, this study found that abused men experience different forms of gender based violence at the hands of their intimate partners. This study found various reasons why abused men stay in abusive relationships. This study also found that abused men do not report the incidents because they feel that no one will believe them and the community will ridicule them. This under reporting of gender based violence against men makes it difficult to have accurate statistics and also to prevent further abuse of men in intimate relationships. Various reasons were given for not reporting the incidents to the relevant institutions. This study also shows that there are not any institutions that provide services for male victims of gender based violence. This is of concern as this pandemic is escalating and it puts men at risk of future violence. Communities should also embark on door-to-door campaigning about GBV against men, so that the communities will know that it is happening, and that it is a threat to many families.