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MISA comment Break the stigma - men can be victims of GBV too

Dec 02, 2024 MISA, the Motor Industry Staff Association, Sonja Carstens, 16-Days of Activism, South African Police Service, Capt. Johan van Dyk,

MISA comment

Break the stigma - men can be victims of GBV too

Men have to be assaulted so bad that they end up in hospital, where they need to account for their injuries, before they will admit that they are victims of gender-based-violence. Capt. Johan van Dyk, spokesperson of the South African Police Service in Tshwane, explained during MISA’s webinar session today that the stigma men face in society, about being victims of gender-based-violence, is so severe that he could not find any statistics for the last six months, whilst he did his preparation.

He found that men acted in a more preventative manner. There were more than 300 cases where men voluntarily submitted their firearms to the police for safekeeping at Tshwane’s 36 police stations.

MISA, the Motor Industry Staff Association, representing more than 69 000 members in the retail motor industry, is hosting a webinar series on gender-based-violence topics as part of the Union’s annual 16-Days of Activism against gender-based-violence and Femicide campaign. The Union’s theme this year is gender-based-violence ends with us and to illustrate this MISA is screening the blockbuster movie It Ends with US, nationwide to selected audiences.

Van Dyk says that although he does not take away from the severity of gender-based-violence and femicide in South Africa towards women and children, awareness must be raised that they are not the only victims. “Women can be abusers too, including physical, verbal, emotional or financial abuse. Neither the Constitution, Harassment Act or the Domestic Violence Act refers to the sex of the abuser. “But the reality is if a man needs a safe house for him and his children, there are none. The system doesn’t cater for a father that might need to flea his home with his children in the middle of the night.”

Van Dyk had to intervene in a case once where police officers laughed at a man who wanted to open a case because his wife slapped him. “It is already a big embarrassment for a man to come forward. The female abuser often getting an interim protection order against the man. The fact that he is the one being abused will only come to the attention of the court once forced to play voice recordings and videos of the threatening behaviour of the abusive wife.”

“That is why the police are trained to treat both parties impartially and without any bias.” Van Dyk pleads for more awareness campaigns and support groups for men.

Issued by Sonja Carstens, Manager of MISA's Media & Communication Department, on behalf of the Union.

For more information contact Carstens on 082 463 6806 or email

Sonja.Carstens@ms.org.za.

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