Question

Explain roles of the South Africa media with regard to gender based violence

Answer 1

Explanation:

Introduction

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a profound and widespread problem in South Africa, impacting on almost every aspect of life. GBV (which disproportionately affects women and girls) is systemic, and deeply entrenched in institutions, cultures and traditions in South Africa.

This introduction will explore what GBV is and some of the forms it takes, examine GBV in South Africa, and begin to explore what different actors are doing to respond to GBV.

What is gender-based violence?

GBV occurs as a result of normative role expectations and unequal power relationships between genders in a society.

There are many different definitions of GBV, but it can be broadly defined as “the general term used to capture violence that occurs as a result of the normative role expectations associated with each gender, along with the unequal power relationships between […] genders, within the context of a specific society.” [1]

The expectations associated with different genders vary from society to society and over time. Patriarchal power structures dominate in many societies, in which male leadership is seen as the norm, and men hold the majority of power. Patriarchy is a social and political system that treats men as superior to women – where women cannot protect their bodies, meet their basic needs, participate fully in society and men perpetrate violence against women with impunity