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Men's role

"Rape is a man’s problem, more than anything. It’s a man’s problem and I’m worried because it’s still fashionable." - Bongani Linda, theatre director and campaigner against sexual assault.

South Africa's Deputy Justice Minister, Cheryl Gilwald, believes that men have a very important role to play in tackling the sexual assault crisis in South Africa: "We need men as key role players in the solution to peace in our country. We need to define our behaviours differently and we need to expect from one another different things. And so men are critical to the solution in the way forward."

One man who has taken a stance against violence directed towards women and children is playwright and sexual assault activist, Bongani Linda: "We’ve got this anger, and the anger that we have is taken to the wrong people. It’s taken to our sisters. And you know for me, this makes me very angry because, I mean, I’ve experienced it. I used to love that woman [his girlfriend who was gang raped and later committed suicide]. She was part of me. We shared the same breath. Today she is no more, because some - I’m sorry to say this, but bastards, barbarians - I prefer not to talk about it, really, because it breaks my heart every time.

"But rape is a man’s problem, more than anything. It’s a man’s problem and I’m worried because it’s still fashionable. Rape has became a popular crime in our townships and, still today, it’s still like that. It’s sky-high. It’s crime number one."

Find out more...

 How men's attitudes can make a difference
 Men's responses