Lebollo and Gender-Based Violence Perceptions of Men in Lesotho

Gender-based violence (GBV) has reached a state of epidemic proportion globally and in particular in Africa. There have been a few studies that have been conducted on GBV in Sub-Saharan Africa. Lesotho, situated in the heart of South Africa has one of the highest prevalence of GBV. An Ecological Framework by the WHO has divided the risk factors into individual, relationship, community and societal factors. Lebollo is overlapping with most factors but it is mainly an exclusive entity. Lebollo is the cultural circumcision of men and the most common cultural practice amongst Basotho men. Lebollo influences gender roles, normative perceptions and the behaviour of Basotho men. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of Lebollo on men’s perceptions on women beating in Lesotho. A cross-sectional study that is based on the DHS survey of Lesotho 2014 was used in this study. Basotho men, ages 15-55, with a sample size of 2921, were selected through a two-stage cluster sampling and completing a standardized questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyse the data. Lebollo was not significantly associated with weakly rejecting GBV perceptions. This was the finding after adjusting for education and socioeconomic factors, that Lebollo was significantly associated with weakly rejecting GBV perceptions. Age, religion, education, wealth and Livential area were identified to affect men’s perceptions of GBV. Most men agreed to women beating with the justification of arguing with her husband. When the Null hypothesis was considered, it was found that Lebollo does not influence the GBV perceptions of men in Lesotho. This is in view of the fact that education and wealth was found to be the strongest predictors and influenced the association between Lebollo and women beating justification (confounders). The Legal and education system of Lesotho including Lebollo needs to be restructured and monitored.