Research knowledge base for GBV questions, methods, and service pathways

The report defines consent as a voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity and stresses that it is an ongoing process that can be withdrawn at any time. It also says consent should never be assumed, regardless of relationship status or prior sexual activity.

The report's glossary describes economic abuse as unreasonable deprivation of economic or financial resources a complainant is entitled to or needs, as well as unreasonable disposal of household effects or property in which the complainant has an interest.

The report found that 84.8% of men were aware that South Africa has laws about violence against women, and 84.0% were aware that a husband forcing his wife to have sex against her will is committing a criminal act. At the same time, the report also found strong pockets of scepticism and victim-blaming beliefs.

Among ever-partnered women who had experienced physical or sexual IPV and answered the injury question, 41.6% said they had been injured as a result. Of those injured, 38.8% said it happened once, 35.6% said two to five times, and 25.7% said more than five times.

Among women who reported injuries from IPV, more than half said they did not require health care, but a substantial minority did. The study found 23.3% needed health care once, 15.1% needed it two to five times, and 5.8% reported needing it more than five times, whether or not they received it.

Among women who sought assistance because of IPV, the most commonly used services were police (30.7%), hospitals or health centres (21.6%), and courts (10.8%). The study also found much lower use of shelters, women's organisations, local leaders, and legal advice.

The HSRC report explains that GBV is heavily under-reported and that police data do not capture the full scale of violence. Many survivors never report to authorities, and official case data can miss emotional abuse, coercive control, barriers to disclosure, and other hidden forms of violence.

Both global and South African evidence link childhood abuse, witnessing violence at home, and other early trauma to later victimisation or perpetration risk. That is why long-term prevention has to include children, families, trauma healing, and early intervention, not only crisis response after violence has already occurred.

Among ever-partnered women, 20.3% reported being insulted or deliberately made to feel bad about themselves, 12.6% reported being deliberately scared or intimidated, 12.6% were belittled or humiliated in front of others, and 11.1% reported verbal threats to hurt them or someone they cared about.

Women were asked about partners withholding earnings, prohibiting them from working or earning money, and taking their earnings against their will. The study found 8.0% reported withheld earnings, 6.6% reported being prohibited from working, and 2.4% reported their earnings being taken against their will.

The most commonly reported controlling behaviours were partners getting angry if the woman spoke with another man (26.5%) and insisting on knowing where she was at all times (26.2%). Other common experiences included suspicion of infidelity, being ignored or treated indifferently, and being kept from friends.

Yes. The controlling-behaviour list in the study includes a partner refusing to use a condom and intentionally removing, sabotaging, or tearing a condom before or during sex without consent. This matters because the report treats reproductive coercion and sexual control as part of psychological abuse patterns.

For women reporting non-partner physical violence, family members were the most frequently identified perpetrators at 31.1%, followed by friends or acquaintances at 11.7%. Strangers were much less commonly reported at 1.8%, which is important for designing prevention and disclosure messaging.

The report found relatively low but still significant reported violence during lockdown, with perpetrators mostly being partners or ex-partners. Among women, 1.8% reported physical violence, 0.9% sexual violence, and 2.7% emotional abuse by a partner or ex-partner during the lockdown period.

The study found high agreement with traditional gender roles among both women and men, including the view that a woman's most important role is to care for the home and cook for the family. It also found notable support for ideas such as men needing sex more than women and, among a minority, tolerance for violence or punishment within relationships.

The report found that 9.9% of ever-partnered men agreed that when a woman is raped, she is usually to blame, 11.9% agreed that if a woman doesn't physically fight back it is not rape, and 22.5% agreed that a woman cannot refuse sex with her husband. These findings show that harmful rape myths and sexual entitlement beliefs remain a live prevention issue.