Young men march to highlight abuse

The Young Men’s Guild (YMG) of the Methodist Church took to the streets on Thursday to lead a march to the New Brighton police station to highlight women and child abuse.

The marchers called on men to work together to combat the alarming scourge of women and child abuse.

Speaking on behalf of YMG, Olwethu Nesi said the guild acknowledged abuse as “evil”.

“We confess that we have as individuals committed acts of sin by abusing women and children.

“We also confess that we individually and corporately as an organisation are guilty of ignorance, silence, and indifference in the midst of rampant abuse,” he said.

He said men were not emotionally moved enough by the pain caused by abuse.

The guild pledged to seek opportunities for men to publicly confess their sins.

“We want to network and collaborate with other churches and organs of civil society that are involved in programmes against women and children abuse.”

YMG secretary-general Loyiso Mbaza said educational programmes had been started with boys and young men.

“We believe that the problem starts when the boys are teenagers. We want to engage with them while they still young to respect and treat women well,” Mbaza said.