Southern Africa: From ‘1-in-3’ to Zero Tolerance – Shattering the Chains of Gender-Based Violence

It is estimated that one out of eight women and girls will experience sexual violence before the age of 18 as a result of gender-based violence.

Globally, gender-based violence continues to be one of the most pressing problems, affecting millions of lives, and more than one in three women experience violence against them. Women who suffer violence in intimate partnerships are at greater risk of contracting HIV, and this increases the risk of AIDS as a public health threat. The fear of violence often prevents women from seeking necessary HIV testing and treatment, since they may avoid disclosing their status or accessing healthcare altogether because of concerns about potential repercussions from abusive partners.

Women are also at increased risk of contracting HIV due to harmful gender norms, insufficient sexual and reproductive health services, and weak health systems.

As a result of this cycle of violence and health inequity, global health targets, such as the 95-95-95 HIV prevention and treatment goals, are challenged.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) remains a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS, spearheading a comprehensive and coordinated global response. This was shared at the thought-provoking webinar on breaking cycles of violence, exploring root causes, sharing effective strategies, and envisioning a world free of gender-based violence.

The panel featured experts from diverse organizations, including Nompumelelo Zungu, a specialist in HIV, mental health, GBV, and gender at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC); Charles Mphephe, the Men’s Forum representative; Tabitha Ntuli of UNAIDS, an expert on equality and rights for all; Jacqueline Nzisabira of UN Women East and Southern Africa; Seugnette van Wyngaard, from insurance company First for Women; and Andiswa Mthembu from Young Women’s Foundation, while South African media personality Katy Katopodis moderated the panel.

From ‘one in three’ to zero tolerance

For nearly 20 years, First for Women has been dedicated to eradicating gender-based violence (GBV) and supporting its victims through various initiatives and programs run by its First for Women Foundation. One of its flagship efforts, the Generation None campaign, was launched by First for Women Insurance. The campaign aims to eradicate GBV and foster a safer, more equitable future for South African women and girls. The campaign has raised over R100 million to support victims and fund prevention projects.

“But our work is far from over,” said Van Wyngaard. “Imagine a world where we can turn ‘one-in-three’ into ‘none’.”

The Generation None campaign aims to eliminate gender-based violence through collective action and unwavering commitment. Van Wyngaard said that a symbolic time capsule project with the hashtag #GenerationNone was launched, inviting South Africans to leave messages of hope for a GBV-free future in a time capsule, and the insurance company will continue to allocate a portion of its premiums to programs that combat GBV.

Unequal ground

In her role as UN Women’s Africa Advisor, Jacqueline Nzisabira addressed the involvement of UN Women in responding to GBV and its impact on the HIV epidemic in Southern Africa.

“We’re in the middle of the 16 Days of Activism, and for years, people worldwide have been advocating against gender-based violence. On our continent, particularly in Southern Africa, gender-based violence is fueling the HIV epidemic. It’s no longer just rhetoric; we have studies that prove it,” said Nzisabira.

Nzisabira said that despite efforts of governments to address these issues, a reactive approach to eradicating GBV and HIV is not sufficient, as structural vulnerabilities, particularly for women and young women, are still driving these epidemics. To illustrate this point, she provided an example.

“If you look at the huge inequalities in our societies, ranging from social to economic, and the harmful norms that treat men and women differently, it becomes clear that we need to address these issues,” said Nzisabira. “Consider how we socialize our young boys and girls. A young boy is not born violent but becomes so through socialization. This highlights the need to address the norms that shape individual beliefs and practices, as well as societal norms that often leave young women dependent on older men.”

She said that there are power imbalances created by transgenerational relationships that expose young women to greater risk, and institutions exacerbate these tensions. This is why the issue needs a whole-of-society approach to address both epidemics. “We’ve seen that tackling the root causes of these inequalities results in women and young women becoming less vulnerable to violence and better protected against HIV infection.”

Wounds beyond bruises 

Charles Mphephe from the Men’s Forum believes that the law focused on girls and women is the reason it isn’t working. “For a long time, the system hasn’t included young men and boys, said Mphephe. “But when you groom girls, they end up in relationships with young men or boys who haven’t been groomed themselves from a young age. It’s a waste of time if we forget to focus on young boys too. That’s why the system isn’t working – because young and older men have been left out.”

Mphephe said the lack of spaces where boys and men can vent their emotions contributes to silent suffering, suicide, and violence. He said that Men’s Forum has been creating these spaces since 2018, and the men who attend their sessions are experiencing positive changes.

“Some say it’s the calm before the storm because we can’t elevate it to the men’s parliament,” said Mphephe. “We were launching the men’s parliament in the city of Johannesburg to address gender-based violence (GBV) and even the national strategic plan for HIV and AIDS.”

Africans are facing dual epidemics of gender-based violence and HIV, with a disproportionate impact on women and girls, said Tabitha Ntuli, the Equality, and Rights for All Advisor at UNAIDS.

Ntuli said that 51% of women in South Africa have experienced gender-based violence in their lifetime and 21,3% of women aged between 15 and 49 are living with HIV, according to the UNAIDS 2023 report. Ntuli said this shows the interconnected nature of GBV and HIV, in which GBV is both a driver and a consequence of HIV.

“Survivors of gender-based violence are more likely to contract HIV due to forced or unsafe sex, and women living with HIV face heightened risks of intimate partner violence and societal stigma,” she said.

Poverty, lack of education and healthcare, and patriarchal norms further exacerbate power imbalances, she said, leaving women vulnerable to abusive or transactional relationships and limiting their ability to negotiate safer practices within relationships.

“Women are raped in marriages. This is a big clue,” said Ntuli. “Even those in monogamous relationships are not truly safe when it comes to HIV and gender-based violence. For many South African women, this is a reality, and for those living with HIV, the risks are even greater due to misinformation. In the age of digitization, while social media and the internet bring many positives, they also present significant challenges. Conversations like these can be reduced to snippets or screenshots, taken out of context, and spread misinformation. It’s a real challenge, especially as we grapple with pandemics and epidemics while also navigating this digital era.”

Ntuli referenced data from the World AIDS Day report showing that women with disabilities living with HIV are twice as likely to experience intimate partner violence compared with women without disabilities who are HIV-negative.

“We need to break this cycle,” said Ntuli.

Nompumelelo Zungu, an expert on HIV, mental health, GBV, and gender at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), said that findings from a survey on gender-based violence revealed that 1,5 million women in South Africa experienced physical and/or sexual violence in the past year, and 7,8 million have faced such violence in their lifetime. She said that sexual violence is more prevalent inside marriages than outside. An alarming finding is that over 14% of women with disabilities are victims of sexual assault, compared to 7% of women who do not have disabilities.

According to Zungu, childhood trauma is one of the key drivers of gender-based violence, as 15% of men in South Africa reported having been sexually abused before they turned 18, and physical violence rates are alarmingly high for both sexes.

“The report linked HIV, mental health, and substance abuse, pointing out that these issues are both drivers of violence and coping mechanisms,” said Zungu. “Childhood experiences, such as being bullied or witnessing domestic violence, increase the risk of intimate partner violence. Data shows that most women are killed by a partner, and over 31% of non-partner violence comes from family members.”

Young people should be involved in programs that address gender-based violence and shift cultural attitudes from an early age, said First for Women’s Van Wyngaard. She describes a school-based program, Action Break Silence, in Soweto, Johannesburg, that teaches respect, self-expression, and healthy boundaries to children as young as 7 years old. Schools participating in the program saw significant reductions in bullying and other forms of violence.

“Unless we start almost at grassroots and eradicating that societal norms around patriarchy and challenging those norms, we’re not gonna win this fight. We need to begin at the grassroots level and understand how we break that cycle,” she said.

An intersectional analysis

“South Africa faces an unseen war on our young women and girls in all their diversity,”  said Andiswa Mthembu of Young Women for Life. The intersection of gender-based violence and HIV, according to Mthembu, is an “unseen war”, a silent epidemic with devastating effects on young people.

YWfLM is a collaborative project of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference and UN Women where young women learn about HIV and GBV.

Mthembu identified poverty, inequality, and systemic failure as the main causes of the current crisis.

Poverty is a major factor, Mthembu said, since it strips young women of their agency, placing them in transactional relationships that expose them to violence, exploitation, and disease. She also critiqued the concept of economic empowerment, saying that while it is frequently promoted as a solution to gender inequality, it remains poorly defined with no clear plan for transforming this vision into action.

“We want to be at the forefront… we want to be put forward, but most of all, we want to be taking the transformative action,” said Mthembu.

Zungu said that addressing gender-based violence requires a comprehensive approach that takes into account various factors such as racism, social injustice, inequalities, and Black people’s historical oppression. She said racism, social injustice, inequalities, women’s oppression, and violence against Black people in this country cannot be ignored. Black women are most affected by gender-based violence, particularly young women.

How much have we done for the protection of girls and women?

“When I first started working on HIV in 1998, a young Black woman was still at risk. What have we done for girls and women,” said Zungu. “For me, we cannot run away from dealing with the structural issues in our country. The fact that we’ve got such a high youth employment, the fact that youth employment affects specific people, the fact that you still have people located in certain areas where poverty is rife, crime is rife, violence is rife. So if you are not going to join these things, we are not going to make progress,” she said.

Despite the interconnected nature of these issues, Zungu believes progress would be difficult without healing intergenerational trauma, particularly in Black communities. “We were the first group to vote at the end of apartheid, so we carry those scars. My generation lived through apartheid. It is painful for us to remember the police knocking on our doors, kicking the doors and entering our homes. Until today, I cannot stand the sounds of someone knocking on my door very loudly, because it reminds me of that time,” she said.

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“We must do that work,” she said, “we cannot escape from it, we must heal our families, our communities, and society.”

Mphephe reiterated Zungu’s point regarding the importance of creating spaces for multi-sector interventions, including the police, traditional healers, and disability advocates. He said it is critical that young men are engaged in schools to talk about their feelings, and mentorship programs can provide guidance to the next generation. Young men often emulate the behavior of older men, and he stressed the need to change these social behaviors to foster healthier role models.

“Remember, monkeys see, monkeys do,” he said.

It is essential to address the root causes of social behavior change, Mphephe said. Young people who are struggling with issues like violence at home or isolation benefit from mentoring and safe spaces. Some young men who experience violence at home may later blame themselves for adopting violent behaviors.

“Remember, healing is a process. You can’t heal in 24 hours. You need to go a step. So, we carry those people until they heal and they become the ambassadors to change those other ones.”

Voices of solidarity

In closing remarks, Mphephe said that men must renew their commitment to combating gender-based violence. He said that there is no excuse for GBV or neglect of treatment. He mentioned the launch of the “Zikhala Kanjani” initiative in Johannesburg, which promotes using condoms during sex and sticking to treatment plans. Van Wyngaard shared her belief that focused investments, compassionate care, and a long-term strategy are essential to improving GBV prevention and support in the future. “Let’s all put our hands together,” said Zungu, calling for collective action. We can do more.”

Nzisabira said the importance of empowerment and support for communities can end both HIV/AIDS and GBV, and it is important to work together to support them.

Mthembu said young women experience several challenges, particularly in informal townships, rural villages, and urban sprawl. She paints a picture of a young girl feeling insignificant and trapped because she is unaware of the policies and laws that protect her. “The future of the girl child is very bleak, so we must end ignorance, cultural oppression, and systemic neglect,” she said.

“Let’s all work hands on deck and think and strategize and implement, coordinate, implement activities and look to outcomes that empower girls while they are at school, the school-to-work transition. Let’s realize it in our lifetime through the support of the private sector.

“Let’s ensure that we prepare our young ones for the world of work while they are still in high school so that we don’t have to have economic empowerment conversations with unemployed graduates. Let’s take a plate at high school so that when they finish high school, they have a chance for them,” said Ntuli, in closing.

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