Suffering in Silence: A Case of Gender-Based Violence against Men’s Well-being at Kwaai-Draai Village, Limpopo Province (South Africa)

Abstract

The paper focused on the effects of gender-based violence against men’s well-being in Kwaai Draai village, Limpopo Province. It examined a variety of factors leading to gender-based violence (GBV) and its consequences against men in Kwaai Draai village. The paper will use a sociological lens to explore gender-based violence against men within a family set-up. GBV is a global pandemic in which women and children are solely assumed to be victims due to their vulnerability whilst, in contrast, men are subjected to suffering in silence in the same patriarchal societies. The paper is qualitative research that is explorative in design. The snowball sampling method was employed in the selection of participants. Semi-structured interviews were used to solicit data from participants. In its integration, the study used social learning theory. The findings emphasised that law enforcement personnel, and community and sector dialogue campaigns should begin to take matters seriously if men are affected and came to report to them the cases of IPV. The findings also highlight that little has been written about GBV in males as compared to women and children.