The United Nations (UN) Regional Representative for Drugs and Crime for Southern Africa, Jane Marie Ongolo, has urged for a community-driven approach to tackle gender-based violence (GBV), calling on men and boys to help redefine traditional notions of masculinity.<\/p>\n
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Speaking at the Intergenerational Dialogue on Building Positive Masculinities for a South Africa Free from GBV and Femicide in Sandton, Johannesburg, Ongolo said true transformation begins within communities rather than through policies alone.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHarmful practices, whether early marriage, exclusionary initiation rituals or gender stereotyping, have left deep scars, especially among women, girls and boys. Yet within culture and faith lies the power for transformation,\u201d Ongolo said.<\/p>\n
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She emphasised that while laws and policies play an important role, lasting change depends on reshaping social attitudes and behaviours. \u201cTrue transformation happens in the heart of communities, in homes, schools, churches, mosques and temples. It happens when men and boys learn that strength is not control but care, and that leadership is not privilege but service,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
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Held under the theme \u201cBridging Generations, Transforming Masculinities: Culture, Faith and Care in Modern SA,\u201d the dialogue brought together leaders, activists and youth to discuss how cultural and faith-based values can be harnessed to promote equality and end GBV.<\/p>\n
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–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13465,"template":"default||default","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-13464","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The United Nations (UN) Regional Representative for Drugs and Crime for Southern Africa, Jane Marie Ongolo, has urged for a community-driven approach to tackle gender-based violence (GBV)||The United Nations (UN) Regional Representative for Drugs and Crime for Southern Africa, Jane Marie Ongolo, has urged for a community-driven approach to tackle gender-based violence (GBV)","published_date":"2025-10-20 12:15:09||2025-10-20 12:15:09","news_description":"The United Nations (UN) Regional Representative for Drugs and Crime for Southern Africa, Jane Marie Ongolo, has urged for a community-driven approach to tackle gender-based violence (GBV)||The United Nations (UN) Regional Representative for Drugs and Crime for Southern Africa, Jane Marie Ongolo, has urged for a community-driven approach to tackle gender-based violence (GBV)","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/13464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/13464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18575,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/13464\/revisions\/18575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=13464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}