OPINION | The plight of boys and men is a missing agenda in G20 engagements

Men are in danger, and they are equally a danger to themselves and those around them.

In his book, titled, Of Boys and Men: Why The Modern Male Matters, And What To Do About It, author Richard Reeves, argues, “There is a fear that helping men means hindering women, whether by design or by happenstance. But it is not true...Raising men up does not mean holding women down or “displacing” them. It means rising together.”

With the presidency of the G20 assumed by SA, the summit is made up of 13 engagements group, that include dialogues with civil society and other non-government institutions. The groups are the Business20 (B20), Civil20 (C20), Labour20 (L20), Parliament20 (P20), Science20 (S20), Start-up20 (SU20), Supreme Audit Institutions20 (SAI20), Think-tank20 (T20), Urban20 (U20), Women20 (W20) and Youth20 (Y20), the Oceans20 (O20) and the Judiciary20 (J20). 

But are those the only sectors or parts of our society that need attention? We have a men problem that is not only limited to SA, but the whole world. I am surprised that they did not add Men20 (M20) as a stand-alone engagement group to help us contribute to the collective discussions and policy decisions to help with the crisis of men. 

Let us reflect on the past two months a bit; May is globally recognised as the boy child’s month, while June is where we observe Men’s Mental Health Month, including in SA. So, essentially, we are aware of the issues that men are facing or contributing towards. 

Perhaps it is worth reminding our leaders that we are in a perpetual state of a crisis, men crisis. Maybe people are not aware that this is a socio-economic phenomenon. Why did our government leaders in the presidency and the relevant ministers not suggest that the issues of men are so urgent that they should have their own engagement group?

From the 2024 statics, SA sits with a suicide rate of 23.5 per 100,000 people, ranks third worst on the continent. SA is closely followed by Lesotho and Eswatini, countries where limited access to mental health services exacerbates the issue.

Age and gender impact suicide risk. For instance, in SA, suicide has been rated as the fourth leading cause of death among people aged between 15 to 24. This is reflecting on the devastating mental health toll on young people. The gender disparity is staggering. Men are four to five times more likely to die by suicide than women. However, women tend to report twice as many suicide attempts as men, indicating a significant gap in prevention efforts targeting both genders. 

It was a missed opportunity for the G20 summit not to engage meaningfully with all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those that affect boys and young men.

Young men are struggling far more in school and in average earnings than ever before. Those who are struggling generally come from disadvantaged communities that are battling socio-economic hardships. It is also evident that the issues are structural, historic and cannot be fixed one boy or one man at a time. Policy interventions simply do not reach or benefit the boys and men who need help the most.

Boys and men are not only struggling, they are also without support from the government. In SA, gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) is treated as a national crisis only when it dominates the headlines.

But when we gather for national dialogues or policy reviews, we somehow avoid addressing the fact that this problem is overwhelmingly centred on boys and men. We cannot fix what we are not willing to face head on.

Reeves said; “People seem to fear that even acknowledging the problems of boys and men will somehow weaken efforts for women and girls. Anything extra for boys and men must mean less for girls and women. This is entirely false.”

He is right. There are urgent and real challenges confronting boys and men in SA and around the world. By recognising them, we will not be betraying the progress made for women and girls. It is a necessary step towards a society that uplifts everyone.

If we are serious about inclusive development, then the boy child cannot remain an afterthought because a neglected boy child becomes a troublesome man of the future.

Chabalala is a social activist championing the rights of boys and men.