Creating spaces for gender-based violence conversations for male students in South African higher education

The higher education sector in South Africa has been plagued for many years with incidences of gender-based violence (GBV). Statistics reveal that nationally 10 per cent of all GBV-reported cases emanate from higher education institutions. Scholars, governments and non-governmental organisations have opened awareness and conscientisation spaces where victims of GBV could share their experiences. The authors of this article contributed through a participatory action research and action learning (PALAR) project that engaged first-year male students in one higher education institution in South Africa in critical conversations about GBV. The authors drew on Paulo Freire’s Critical Consciousness concepts of critical reflection and critical action in framing the conversations in all seminars held with the male students. It needs to be noted that the current article reports on two initial conversations that formed part of a larger university-wide project that focuses on male students and different internal and external stakeholders to conceptually dissect GBV as a plague that must be eradicated, in addition to recommending practical strategies to curb GBV at institutional levels. Emerging from these two seminars were male contestations about the definition of GBV as a concept, and critical questions of voice and responsibility as reported in this article.