The fight against gender-based violence: a missional nurturing of people of peace

Abstract

The fight against gender-based violence (GBV) requires the participation of as many society stakeholders as possible, including the church. Gender-based violence has become a pandemic in South Africa. The township of Soshanguve where InnerCHANGE, a missional team, serves is just a microcosm of this alarming reality. This research uses the grounded theology methodology to design a curriculum to empower teenagers and the youth to become people of peace. These are people who commit to act non-violently in all circumstances and to call out violence as a society destroyer. This study stresses that perpetrators and enablers of GBV are the causes of the pandemic. The perpetrators are known to be mostly men. The enablers are the situation of the normalisation of violence in local communities, a negative understanding of power and a lack of participation from the church in fighting against GBV. This study focuses on enablers for the development of people of peace. The aim for InnerCHANGE was to participate in this fight against GBV in teaching teenagers and the youth to see violence as abnormal, to understand power as a resource to serve others and to actively participate in this fight against GBV through their everyday choices of acting non-violently and calling out violent acts. The research concludes that GBV seems to be intergenerational in our local community. And, it will take preventive measures such as the education of teenagers and the youth to break such a normalised abuse and build peaceful communities where violence will not be tolerated. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article is located in the field of missiology. It is inspired by practical theology, sociology, psychology and journalism to design a curriculum that intends to develop the youth and teenagers as people of peace.