By Thabile Mange
Last Friday, I introduced my latest book on Facebook. The book is about men abuse (the focus is on intimate partner abuse in heterosexual relationships), which receives less attention from relevant stakeholders, including the media. On my Facebook timeline, I wrote a short note saying “men are abused too”. “Who speaks for them?”
The above statement didn’t go down well with certain women on Facebook. Maybe the timing of the book was not perfect, given that it is Women’s Month? They felt that I was deliberately countering the campaign against female abuse, understandably so.
Let me hasten to say that, by introducing the book during Women’s Month, I am not in anyway countering or trivialising the campaign against female abuse. My last book was about women abuse. Therefore, I know the pain that victims go through, given the research I have conducted on the subject. So, I wouldn’t do that.
That said, men abuse is real. And, it is killing the menfolk silently - we shouldn’t shy away from raising this matter in public. Otherwise, we will also be contributing to male abuse. Yet it is not receiving the attention it deserves. Even writers and researchers show little interest on the subject. The sad part about male abuse is that there is a stigma attached to it.
Victims shouldn’t suffer for the sins of other men who abuse females. They should also not be treated as strangers in their own country. They deserve to be supported, especially by their families and government. Surely that is not asking for too much?
The Star