Ms. Adele Jacobs fingers Violent-centric Media as a contributor to Gender Based Violence and Femicide.

Ms. Adele Jacobs, a volunteer at ActAfrica, an NPO that is duly registered and operating in terms of the laws of South Africa, and a teacher and principal at independent school with an enrolment of 800 learners from Grade R to 7, with compliment of 31 teachers and with an additional 100 grade RR pupils, fingers Violent-centric Media as a contributor to Gender Based Violence and Femicide.

Ms. Jacobs has agreed to be part of a campaign promoted by ActAfrica and the Banking on Africa’s Future (BOAF) – 10,000 Points of Light (POL) to provoke, ignite and inspire positive and forward-leaning ideas and actions aimed at reducing the frontiers of Gender Based Violence & Femicide.

Ms. Jacobs attended a media launch hosted by Zuri Africa Queen on 2 July 2022 and this is what she had to say about the event: “Enjoyed it very much. The one thing that stood out was how you (Mr. Mawere) mentioned that everything starts with an idea and how it grows from there. Enjoyed the art program. I am excited to play my part in prosecuting the WAR against GBVF using this joint platform as I believe that running a school is not different from being part of a value-centric problem solving bank whose main currency is knowledge sharing in an organized manner.”

Below is an article that Ms. Jacobs wrote sometime ago on the causal link between violent GBVF:

“Wrote this some time ago to our teachers and parents

While teaching my grade 7s it dawned on me that these murderers and rapists at one point was a child in a home and a learner in a classroom.

Did we do our job by teaching our boys to respect girls? Boys should understand the value of respect and consent. Pervasive disrespect leads to violence and harm. If we show respect we will teach respect. Respectful speaking teaches respect.

We need to monitor violent media
Violent media is increasingly normal and has an undeniable desensitizing impact on those who view it. If we sit and watch shows with our kids that exacerbates violence and model aggression it does nothing to help the cause. We need to minimize exposure to games, movies and TV shows that promote disrespect and inhumanity.

Teach intimacy and consent.
Our kids should learn about healthy relationships where expression of love and empathy is shown in healthy functional ways. They should understand context and commitment. Our daughters must know that they can say no and our sons should understand no means no.

As parents and educators it is crucial that we have these conversations with our children in order for them to know right from wrong and not become part of this devastation.

With the South African rape and gender based violence crisis getting worse by the day, it certainly is our responsibility to ensure that our kids do not perpetuate these crimes.”