We need men to end gender-based violence
It is not just a woman’s issue
In the past two months, we’ve been confronted by alleged gang-rapes in New York and Delhi and a dozen women’s bodies have been found dumped in Johannesburg. Men need to engage in tackling this scourge. Plus Minna Salami on African feminist thought
The alleged gang-rape of a student at Cornell University in New York, the discovery of 12 women’s corpses dumped near Johannesburg, and the attack on a teenage girl in a park in New Delhi are examples of extreme gender-based violence that have made headlines around the world in recent weeks.
A civil lawsuit filed last month by the woman in the “Cornell 7” incident that occurred in 2024 has raised questions about how police and universities handle rape allegations and punish alleged perpetrators. In a video message, Cornell University president Michael Kotlikoff said the school would take "a serious look at the role of fraternities and sororities in campus life”.
In New Delhi, debate has focused on how to make cities safer for women with improved lighting and increased police patrols. Protests at Indian universities have seen women holding posters that read: “Girls don’t need curfews, rapists need consequences.”
