By Loushe Jordaan Gilbert

Women have always been at the forefront of every march, picket, and demonstration to highlight Gender Base Violence (GBV) and actively uniting behind the call for more stringent measures to curb GBV, but what about men?

Is there enough being done to make perpetrators of GBV aware of the damage they cause, physically, emotionally and the mental scares they leave behind after every punch hits the face of a bleeding women or the impact of the ugly words, they use to describe them?

Speaking to VOC Breakfast, Luyolo Lengisi, co-founder of Langa for Men said it is important to get to the root of the issues and address it head on.

“I was born and bred in a Township, and it was not uncommon for men to abuse women. I always saw my mom and some of the other females rally behind the call to end GBV, but I always thought that was not enough and that is why my partner and I decided to start the Non-profit organisation (NPO),” he said.

Langa for Men, an organisation that helps men find ways of understanding why it is they find pleasure in hurting women, while at the same time providing an opportunity for them to heal and reintegrate into society. The organisation also offers sessions for women to try to understand why some men are perpetrators.

Lengisi said a boy child has been failed by society for so many times. They are not expected to cry and in order for them to be heard they need to raise their hands on women.

“We need to teach men that showing emotion and dealing with them are okay and not frowned upon, it is also important for them to realise that vulnerability is not a sign of weakness. Through our workshops we also help them manage and better control whatever they feel, which prevents them from using physical abuse as a means of expressing that anger,” he added.

When asked how the community is adapting to the services offered by the NPO, Lengisi said at first it was a bit challenging as people are set in their ways and afraid of the unknown, but things are looking better.

“Everyone fears the unknown, but once people started realising what it is we do, they slowly started to support and attend of workshops. It is very important that people understand that the process of healing as both a perpetrator or GBV and a survivor thereof is a long and hurtful process, but once the journey of healing is completed, things will be better,” he concluded.