The recent utterance “educated men don’t rape” by the minister of basic education Angie Motshekga and “real men don’t abuse” statement which periodically plays on radio station Metro FM are worrisome. Although both statements may have been said without ill intention, they feed into the problematic and false notion that it is a different type of man who rapes, abuses or does harm to women and children.

These statements are akin to referring to rapists and murderers as monsters when in fact rapists, abusers and murderers live among us and are everyday members of society we are constantly in interactions with. Members of society that range from educators, church ministers, community leaders, politicians, radio hosts, uncles, brothers, cousins and fathers...