The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has introduced a compulsory Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) training course for public servants, in a bid to strengthen gender mainstreaming and drive more inclusive government policies. The move comes as South Africa continues to grapple with alarming levels of gender-based violence (GBV), which government has repeatedly described as a national crisis. In a statement, the department said the online GBA+ course will equip officials with practical tools to design policies and…

Ubuntu as Moral Compass in the Face of Violence South Africa, celebrated for its diverse cultures and rich heritage, continues to face one of the highest incidences of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the world. In KwaZulu-Natal alone, the Centre for Community Impact’s 2023 report indicates that over a third of the women have experienced some form of violence, from verbal abuse to physical and sexual assault. Beyond the numbers lies the lived experience of pain, fear, and social marginalisation. Ubuntu…

The persistent and structural crisis of gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa necessitates an analytical hermeneutic that decisively anchors its genesis within the enduring colonial matrix of power (colonialidad del poder), Foucauldian modalities of power/knowledge, and spatialized dispositifs of oppression and resistance. This colonial matrix establishes and sustains the racialised and patriarchal hierarchies that subsequently consign specific subjectivities and corporeal realities, particularly those of Black women, queer, and trans persons, to the necropolitical calculus and the status of social death…

Action Society has released a new research report detailing the scale and impact of violence against children in South Africa, warning that the country is failing to protect its most vulnerable citizens despite repeated national awareness campaigns. The report titled The Crisis of Crime Against Children in South Africa: A Call for Accountability and Urgent Reform was published on Friday as South Africans across the country turned purple in support of the Women For Change initiative, which highlights the national…

Amnesty International South Africa has urged world leaders attending the G20 Summit to prioritise principled leadership and human rights in response to multiple global crises. The organisation highlighted ongoing conflicts, including the situation in Gaza and Sudan, alongside domestic challenges such as climate change and gender-based violence. “From embracing increasingly authoritarian practices to waging wars that devastate the lives of countless civilians, an alarming number of world leaders are dragging humanity down an extremely dangerous path,” said Shenilla Mohamed, Executive…

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will officially relaunch the Madadeni Thuthuzela Care Centre in KwaZulu-Natal next week, marking a major step forward in the province’s response to gender based violence and femicide. The new standalone facility at Madadeni Provincial Hospital is the tenth Thuthuzela Care Centre in the province and is designed to support survivors while strengthening the criminal justice system. The event will be officiated by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi and the National Director…

Taletso TVET College student leader Onalenna Molelekwa stood before more than one thousand students and told a story many in the hall recognised but few have ever had the courage to speak about. Her voice was steady but heavy with memory as she described the pain she has carried since her own experience of GBV, an experience that shaped the tone and emotion of the college’s GBV and femicide awareness launch in Lehurutshe, Zeerust. The event was supported by the…

As South Africa prepares to observe the annual 21 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Child Abuse, courts across the country have delivered heavy sentences to perpetrators of rape, murder, and abuse, reaffirming the justice system’s commitment to protecting women and children. In the North West, the Christiana Regional Court sentenced Boikanyo Seemohela (30) to 18 years in prison for raping his nine-year-old nephew in 2021. The incident occurred while Seemohela, the victim, and his mother were staying…

South African courts this week delivered a string of heavy sentences in cases involving rape, child abuse, and violent crimes against women and children, underscoring the judiciary’s growing intolerance of gender-based violence (GBV). In one of the most chilling cases, the Evander Magistrates’ Court in Mpumalanga on Wednesday sentenced 39-year-old Khutso Christopher Seopa to four life terms plus 45 years’ imprisonment. Seopa was convicted of raping four women, kidnapping two, and committing additional crimes, including robbery, unlawful possession of a…

Growing up, many boys are taught, directly or indirectly that a woman is like a child. Such teachings are part of the undocumented curriculum in initiation schools where men are taught that a woman must be protected, provided for, and guided. While on the surface this might sound like care or affection, beneath it lies a toxic message: that women are not fully autonomous adults. This flawed education quietly shapes the way many men interact with women throughout their lives,…