​“We should be responsible and accountable for our own actions as men”, said NICRO Victim Empowerment Social Worker, Walter Mashabela to a group of men in Mamelodi.
Mashabela was speaking during a men’s dialogue organized by the Gauteng Department of Social Development and stakeholders to tackle scourge of gender-based violence in Mamelodi, Tshwane at Matimba Centre on Monday.

One of the stakeholders was NICRO, a non-profit organization, which aims to create safer communities in the country focusing on issues of crime and violence.

Mashabela, said they had a program called Men On One they offer in their organization, which offers anger management classes. He added that men have been taught to feel entitled to women and to not communicate in a healthy manner.

As a result, men do not know how to control their emotions and end up abusing women. These classes aim to educate men and women on healthy and effective ways to deal with anger, as well as communication skills.

Mashabela further reiterated to men that women do not belong to men, and they have the right to make their own decisions. To deal with the scourge of GBV, the entitlement men have over women needs to be addressed by the men themselves, and so this where NICRO comes in as it helps men learn how to navigate their emotions.

“We need to set a good example for our children, because how they behave starts with what they see at home”, said Mashabela.