The Construction of Non-Violent Dialogues through Visual Arts

Violence remains a long-term threat to South Africa’s outlook. Gender-based violence, perpetrated by men on their spouses (women) and children as well as other males, appears to be on the rise, as reported contact crimes have spiked. Men and boys are the centre of conflict, either the perpetrators or the victims of violence. Research on gender inequality has demonstrated evidence of continued violence and asks: how constructions of masculine identities are the leading factors of the continuing violence? It is a challenge to work with boys with the aim of reshaping the care about each other's non-violent behaviour. The project's core goal is to use innovative approaches such as creative arts to speak to issues such as masculine identity, gender equality, consent, sex, abuse and construction of non-violent behaviours in the societies. The project will use artistic expression techniques to generate discourse, such as poetry, music, painting, photography and other expressive methods, to tackle topics such as gender discrimination, violent behaviour and gender distinctions.