Gender-Based Violence Intervention Partnership Request.

Take a stand with us, and let’s do something to create radical change for those stuck in the endless cycle of gender-based violence.

Why should you get involved in the fight against gender-based violence?

The sad reality is that gender-based violence in South Africa threatens many individuals daily. Media platforms such as BBC News South Africa and The Mail and Guardian have compared South Africa’s gender-based violence statistics to that of a country at war.

Statistics reported by The World Health Organisation.

“Estimates published by WHO indicate that globally about 1 in 3 (30%) of women worldwide have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.”

“Most of this violence is intimate partner violence. Worldwide, almost one third (27%) of women aged 15-49 years who have been in a relationship report that they have been subjected to some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner.”

Global Risk Insights posted an article recently that sums up the situation that gender-based violence victims suffer.

“In South Africa, sometimes known as the ‘destination of femicide’, more than 2,700 women have been murdered as a result of gender-based violence (GBV) since 2000. Although grassroots organisations have persistently campaigned to end GBV, many women in South Africa continue to suffer abuse. Now, South Africa’s GBV problem is worsening, as lockdown measures have trapped women inside with their abusers.”

Prior to the pandemic, femicide in South Africa was already five times higher than the global average and the female interpersonal violence death rate was the fourth-highest out of the 183 countries listed by the World Health Organisation in 2016. Evidence has now emerged that suggests cases of violence against women are increasing.

In 2019-2020, there was an average increase of 146 sexual offences and 116 specifically rape cases per day, predominantly rape, compared to the same period between 2018-2019.

Researchers from the Wits School of Governance suggest that the lockdown measures are likely to be the cause of this increase in GBV, as women were forced to stay home and left vulnerable to domestic abuse. In addition, the lockdown has prevented access to civil service groups dedicated to supporting victims of GBV.

Yet, victims already faced issues seeking support and justice before the pandemic. In South Africa, reports of GBV are often dismissed by the police who perceive the issue as a private matter for families, rather than a criminal matter for the courts. There is also the stigma associated with sexual violence.

Together, these factors contribute to the underreporting of GBV cases.”- South Africa’s Secondary Pandemic: A Crisis of Gender-Based Violence >>