ABSTRACT
The institution of family-hood is generally seen as the foundation in African cultures. However, many social indicators expose an increasingly weakened family structure in African societies, including divorce, violence, abuse and an occurring “norm” to see African men as violent, criminal and redundant. As much as several studies confirm the increase in rape and sexual violence among African men, few attempt to explain the root causes of these phenomena and, further, do not appropriately locate their analysis in the cultural context these acts constitute a deviation from. Gender-based violence and rape are often seen as “women’s problems”—yet, they are mostly perpetuated by men. Would that not make them men’s problems? To what extent can, and should, African men take responsibility for solving such problems? And, in what way, could the resolve of rape be located in African indigenous knowledge? This article is a synthesis of findings from a study the author conducted on rape, rage and culture and gives an introduction to the study’s relevance to decolonial thought by raising ontological questions through a transdisciplinary, African-centered lens of inquiry.
