Homophobia, intimate partner violence, bullying in schools are among the issues that will be on the spotlight on Masiphephe Network’s second season of drama and talk-show. After a successful first season that aired between July and October 2021, the second season promises to be a ‘must listen to’ show, as Masiphephe Network portrays the daily realities of GBV in eThekwini, Mbombela, Emalahleni and the City of Johannesburg.
Funded by the United States for International Development Agency (USAID) and coordinated by the Centre for Communication Impact (CCI) Masiphephe Network runs community based GBV prevention interventions and has made strides in mobilising organisations ranging from those that provide services such as psychosocial support, working with men, statutory bodies and activists.
Informed by the post-broadcast evaluation and research undertaken following the broadcast of Masiphephe Radio Drama Series Season I, the second season focuses mainly on the issues of LGBTQIA+ communities such as homophobia. The findings revealed that many people do not have adequate knowledge or information about the LGBTQIA+ community. In response to this, the radio series will attempt to influence the listeners’ perceptions about the LGBTQIA+ communities, strive to shift negative attitudes and increase their knowledge pertaining to this population.
The listeners will be challenged to recognise that everybody is different, and that people have a right to live their full lives free from discrimination. In addition, the series will feature men and women with lived experiences of GBV to share their stories on air.
Independent Researcher Tshidi Motuba who interviewed men and women as part of the evaluation of Masiphephe Radio Drama Series I, reported that Season I had a huge impact on knowledge, attitudes and behaviours/ practices amongst the listeners who had listened to Season 1 as opposed to those who had not listened. However, the findings also revealed that there are gaps that still need to be addressed and more education is still needed to educate people about GBV in South Africa. One of the important recommendations from the evaluation was that there’s a dire need to amplify issues of sexuality as discrimination and abuse remain high.
“We conducted the study to understand how the first season of Masiphephe series had fared and it was quite shocking that the knowledge about the LGBTQIA+ is very low among heterosexual persons and this requires an urgent intervention as homophobia is a human rights issue. Not only did we discover issues of discrimination based on sexuality, but men also expressed a need to have their stories of being abused told, as they feel that they are often left out, yet the violence was dire to them as well. Therefore, one of the notable issues in Season 2 is GBV that is perpetrated towards men and the services that are available for them.
“However, there’s an increase of knowledge between men and women in their understanding of what constitutes GBV, its typologies, drivers and how it can be prevented” added Motuba.
To spread the GBV prevention messaging to the relevant audience, Masiphephe Radio Drama Series II will feature people with lived experiences ranging from reformed perpetrators, survivors and activists.
Drawing from the network itself, statutory bodies such as the Department of Social Development (DSD), National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), human rights commission and community-based organisations that are at the forefront of GBV will provide expert advice during the show. Listeners will be given an opportunity to interact with the two guests in studio while Masiphephe Network project coordinators will provide commentary and facilitate discussions on social media.
Asked about the format of the series, Executive Producer Rodgers Baloyi, is optimistic that the combination of drama, talk-show and engagement via social media adds value to the programme in terms of the entertainment and educational values and it will assist in strengthening the message and getting it across.
“The combination of drama and talk-show will enable the listeners to understand the issues that influence violence. The two approaches complement each other very well as the latter provides an opportunity for the listeners to hear from in studio guests about the different strategies that people can use to prevent GBV and most importantly information about where people can get the GBV services with referral pathways if needed. We believe that the format will respond to the needs of the listeners as we are often inundated with phone calls from people who want to hear from the reformed perpetrators”.
The network currently supports the implementation of social behavioural change and advocacy initiatives in partnership with the Gender, Health and Justice Research Unit (GHJRU) as the research and policy advocacy strategic partner and five community based organizations in selected wards in three provinces which are: Agisanang Domestic Abuse Prevention and Training (ADAPT) in Alexandra, City of Johannesburg (COJ) in Gauteng Province; Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke) in Diepkloof, Soweto in COJ; Project Support Southern Africa (PSASA) in Emalahleni and Mbombela Municipalities in Mpumalanga Province; Gugu Dlamini Foundation (GDF) in Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu in eThekwini Municipality; and Ethembeni Crisis Centre (Ethembeni) in eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal Province.
Masiphephe Radio II broadcast schedule
Community radio station Location Days of the week Time slot
Jozi FM Soweto Mondays & Wednesdays 18:30 – 19:00
Alex FM Alexandra Tuesdays & Thursdays 19:00 – 19:30
Vibe FM Kwa-Mashu Mondays & Wednesdays 17:30 – 18:00
Inanda FM Inanda Tuesdays & Thursdays 17:00 – 17:30
Imbokodo FM Pinetown Inner West Mondays & Wednesdays 18:30 – 19:00
K-Radio Mbombela Tuesdays & Thursdays 17:00 – 17:30
Barberton Community Radio (BCR) Barberton Tuesdays & Thursdays 18:30 – 19:00
Emalahleni FM Emalahleni Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:30 – 12:00
For more information contact, Masiphephe Network, 066 299 9155
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