I find it profoundly disturbing that I have spent much of today witnessing people defend or minimise conduct of this nature. The extent to which some are willing to rationalise it raises questions far more troubling than the incident itself. So I ask, without fear of contradiction: How seriously are we, as a society, committed to fighting gender-based violence when our standards of accountability appear so inconsistently applied? South Africa speaks passionately about fighting gender-based violence, yet I find myself increasingly fascinated by the leniency we afford men when their conduct raises serious questions about women’s safety.