Heartlines Share How Positive Fatherhood is Key to Breaking Cycles of Violence

Photo Credit: Heartlines

A new Heartlines report shares children’s honest voices on fatherhood and why presence matters in breaking cycles of violence.

South Africa (15 April 2026) – A research report sits on my desk, it’s from Heartlines, and it details all the reasons fathers matter. And while some highly educated people put this report together, it’s the voices within the pages that make it most impactful. The report is “amplifying children’s unfiltered perspectives on fatherhood”.

Like many research reports, this one is filled with definitions, methodology and data analysis, but it is also filled with the voices of tweens and teens from across South Africa. What they have to say on the subject matters.

“A good father would guide you to do the right things in life; he teaches you respect, and he is always there to correct you when you go wrong, telling you not to rush into trying things while still too young” – says Orange Farm, tween.

The Heartlines Fathers Matter campaign highlights how positive fatherhood and male role models can help prevent violence before it starts. Research from the Fathers Matter report suggests that violence does not begin with a weapon; it develops much earlier, in the everyday emotional lives of children.

Pathways to violence often take shape long before physical acts occur, emerging in how children experience and process anger, shame and conflict. The report notes that children often mirror the behaviours they associate with manhood, including substance abuse, aggression, bullying and violence, particularly in school environments.

In South Africa, responses to violence tend to focus on enforcement and crisis intervention. Heartlines argues that prevention begins much earlier, and that positive fatherhood has a role to play in breaking cycles of harm.

For Themba Dlamini, author of Village Boy: A Memoir of Fatherlessness, pastor and father of four, a near-fatal hijacking shifted the focus from the crime itself to where it stems from. He looked at the age of the perpetrators and what may have shaped them long before that moment of violence. All he could think was, “Where are their fathers?”

And it’s that question that sits at the heart of the Fathers Matter initiative by Heartlines.

Children don’t learn from theory; they learn from example, and so surrounding them with good examples becomes vital in breaking cycles of violence.

“Men do not wake up one day and decide to be violent. They are formed,” says Dlamini. “And part of that formation is whether there was someone who helped them understand both their strength and their limits.”

Heartlines acknowledges the complex realities behind father absence in South Africa. Historical and socio-economic factors, including migrant labour, poverty and unemployment, have contributed to patterns of separation within families.

“This is not about blame,” says Dlamini. “It is about invitation. A child does not need a perfect father. They need presence. They need someone who stays.”

Through the Fathers Matter programme, Heartlines provides practical resources, stories, and support to help men, families and communities build stronger relationships with children. This includes the Fathers Matter Coach WhatsApp platform, workshops, and a range of accessible tools designed to support positive fatherhood and mentorship.

“We do not need fewer men,” says Dlamini. “We need more men who stay.”

Many of the young participants honoured the other men that have stayed. Honouring grandfathers, uncles, brothers, cousins, teachers and men within their communities. These role models do make a difference; they fill the gap where they can.

The report as a whole tries to cover all elements of youth, fatherhood, and the social ills that are faced. If you are working within the youth space, whether as a teacher, social worker, carer or parent, this report is vital to understanding not only the children in your life, but the youth as a whole.

If you are eager to read this report, you can find it online here.