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

Gender-based violence is harm or abuse that happens because of unequal power relations and social expectations about gender. It can include physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, verbal, economic, and other forms of abuse in both public and private life.

South Africa's National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide is a statutory body meant to provide strategic leadership and coordinate a multi-sector response involving government, civil society, labour, and business. Its role is to strengthen and better resource the national response to GBVF.

The study found that 7.7% of women aged 18 and older had a disability. The most commonly reported disabilities were difficulty walking or climbing steps (3.5%) and difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses (3.0%).

Yes. Survivors should be given information about medical procedures after rape, including HIV prevention measures such as post-exposure prophylaxis, as well as other relevant treatment and follow-up care. Asking early is important because some interventions are time-sensitive.

Rape Crisis explains that at a TCC a counsellor should greet the survivor, explain the procedures, and provide emotional support for the survivor and any support person who has come along. The doctor then takes a history, performs a medical examination, and may collect forensic samples from the body and clothing.

Rape Crisis court resources describe measures such as intermediaries and closed-circuit television that can help protect witnesses while they testify. These measures matter because participation in court should not depend on a survivor having to endure avoidable intimidation.

The RAPSSA report explains that the SAECK is the standard kit used during a forensic medical examination to collect samples for DNA analysis in sexual offence cases. It is part of the formal evidence process and is used for both children and adults.

No. The report is a national baseline survey with subgroup findings, not a municipality-level prevalence dataset. It is useful for context, benchmarking, and understanding patterns, but not for claiming that a specific municipality has a measured GBV rate from this source alone.

The strongest use is as a public context and pathway layer that explains why certain services matter, where support journeys often begin, and which types of support should exist together. It should complement local directory coverage and service-gap analysis rather than substitute for local prevalence data.

UNODC cautions that international trafficking figures only reflect victims who came into contact with authorities and were detected. Hidden exploitation is far larger, so low detection should never be mistaken for low prevalence.

The report describes itself as the first fit-for-purpose national GBV prevalence study across all nine provinces, using a population-based household survey and internationally recognised WHO-aligned measurement approaches. That makes it especially useful as a baseline for national context and trend tracking.

The HSRC report explains that police data are shaped by under-reporting, fear of retaliation, stigma, weak documentation, and lack of trust in authorities. That is why a population-based survey is needed to understand violence that never reaches official records.

Not always. The RAPSSA report found that special measures such as intermediaries and other child-sensitive supports were not routinely used even where they appeared relevant. That gap matters because legal protections only help if courts actually apply them.

The HSRC baseline found that 35.5% of women aged 18 years and older reported lifetime physical and/or sexual violence, and 7.0% reported recent physical and/or sexual violence in the past 12 months. It also found that 23.9% of ever-partnered women reported lifetime physical and/or sexual IPV.

The HSRC report shows that many survivors first disclose to family and friends rather than to formal institutions. Among women who disclosed IPV, 64.2% told family, while far fewer reported telling authorities or using specialist services, which has major implications for service design and outreach.

The national baseline found a higher lifetime burden of violence among women with disabilities on several indicators, including physical violence, sexual violence, and combined physical and/or sexual violence. That makes disability-aware services and accessible support pathways a serious response need, not a nice-to-have.

The study found that 25.1% of ever-partnered women had experienced one or more acts of emotional abuse in their lifetime, and 10.0% had experienced emotional abuse in the past 12 months. This shows that emotional abuse is a major part of the GBV burden, not a secondary issue.

The HSRC baseline found that 13.1% of ever-partnered women had experienced one or more acts of economic abuse in their lifetime, while 4.5% had experienced economic abuse in the past 12 months. Among men, 14.8% reported lifetime perpetration of one or more economic abuse acts and 5.3% reported recent perpetration.

The report found that 57.6% of ever-partnered women had experienced one or more controlling behaviours from a partner. On the men's side, 77.2% of ever-partnered men agreed with one or more statements reflecting controlling behaviour in their current or most recent relationship.