Page 17 - SA Chamber UK - MAY Newsletter 2024

and STEP UP 2 A START UP encouraging entrepreneurial development, which in recent

years focused on the green economy and climate change.

In 2022 Primestars launched a first-of-its-kind gender-based violence prevention programme,
which has become one of SA’s leading boy child programmes titled ‘What About the Boys?’.

What About The Boys?

With South Africa’s shocking statistics on gender-based violence, more needs to be done
starting at grass roots level with the boy child. ‘What About the Boys?‘ aims to address the

issues that boys and men experience, which according to some experts are seemingly at
the core of some of SA’s high crime rates. The effects of traditionally defined masculinity
and societal expectations sees boys equating emotion with weakness and teaches them
to dominate.

A new call to action has emerged and ‘What About the Boys?’ programme proposes a
paradigm shift by showing boys how to inhabit their masculinity responsibly. It facilitates
and advocates a safe space for boys to connect and engage enhanced by a mentorship
process to promote healthy ways to share emotion and break free from stereotype.

The programme runs in schools across the nation with a focus on underserved communities
and has created a movement for change.

It offers an educational and supportive environment where boys can learn to manage their

triggers while recognising the value of respect, empathy, and dignity in all relationships.

Critical to the programme’s success is the qualitative and quantitative data gathered before
and after implementation. The sources for the data include scenario-based preassessment

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SA CHAMBER UK NEWSLETTER MAY 2024