27 Oct 2022

Males have the propensity to drag their feet to seek medical attention even if they are truly sick or in pain.

The secretary of Serowe Men Sector Committee, Mr Sesiro Raditanka told BOPA in an interview, on the sidelines of a Gender Based Violence workshop at Funkie’s Feedlot recently, that an average man was likely to delay seeking medical care, which he said may be related to the socialisation they received about what it meant to ‘be a man’.

He said the men sector committee, whose members were predominantly male, was concerned about the tendency, adding as the main initiators of sex and head of families, men should be encouraged to not only partake in health programmes, but also support their partners in doing so.

Mr Raditanka said some men even refused to request for health assistance until they were disabled, which he said could be a result of fear. 

“They worry about a bad diagnosis or a bad outcome.

Men want to see themselves as forever strong and capable of handling anything,” he said.

Acknowledging that the rate at which men violated women was alarming, Mr Raditanka implored men to also speak up about their experiences of being victims of Gender Based Violence (GBV).

He said it was important to engage men in all fora that discussed the impact of GBV on the society to allow them to also speak up about their experiences as victims.

He highlighted that a boy-child exposed to good parenting adopted this culture and grew up into a responsible man, hence it was important to raise boys in a manner that would mould them into responsible men, who abhor abuse of women.

Mr Raditanka lamented that men continued to inflict violence on women by assaulting and killing them, which had tainted the image of men.

“Let’s teach our children that it is possible to disagree with someone without inflicting physical or emotional pain,” he said.

He stated that police statistics on GBV matters were not a true reflection of what was happening on the ground as some people did not report such matters.  ENDS