Campaign calls on SA to #MakeTime to teach boys about consent, boundaries

CAPE TOWN - NGO, 1000 Women today launches a major national campaign urging parents to pledge to #MakeTime.

The campaign is aimed at South Africans to #MakeTime to speak to their sons to teach them about consent, boundaries and respect for women, and join the cause of fighting against the ongoing, horrific levels of gender-based violence.

The campaign centres on a children’s doll – Krissy Doll – that appears to have been brutally assaulted, exhibiting all the hallmarks of domestic violence. In a digital film, two young girls are playing with the doll, putting make-up on the doll’s face to cover up cuts and bruises.

Co-founder and trustee of the organisation, Tina Thiart said the Krissy Doll is a strong denotation of how women “cover up or hide the abuse or violence that is inflicted upon them”.

“By showing a potential future in which little girls accept battered and bruised dolls as if this were the norm, we are hoping to shock South Africans into having critical conversations with their sons.

“Close on 100 women and children have been murdered over the last few months in South Africa, not forgetting all the women and children who came before them, or those we don’t know about. And this is only set to rise with the lifting of alcohol restrictions last week.

“Our girls have more chance of being raped than learning to read. Sickeningly, from babies and children to young girls and elderly women, all women are targets for rape, abuse and murder, and something needs to be done,” Thiart said.

To assist adults in navigating these difficult conversations, 1000 Women have made free-for-all digital resources available at maketime.org.za.

“A recent survey indicated that when asked if it is acceptable for a man to hit a woman, 3.3% of men and 2.3% of women in South Africa said that it is. Despite the percentage being small, it will never be possible to completely eliminate violence against women while there are still women who believe that it is acceptable to be hit by a man, at the same time not understanding their constitutional rights or what is regarded as socially unacceptable behaviour.

“So, while making time to talk to our sons, we also need to encourage our daughters and help them understand that abuse is not okay,” said Thiart.

For more information, visit maketime.org.za.