The scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) on women plaguing South Africa

Abstract

Despite the existence of a constitutional legal framework, criminal sanctions to address violent behaviour by men are not enough. The killing of women by men has reached a disproportionate crescendo in South Africa. It is critical, that as a society we denounce the continuation of this trend and address the underlying causes of violent masculinity and physical abuse against women. Social norms, religious and traditional values, patriarchy, and gender relationships contribute to dominant notions of masculinity, which eventually undermine women's inalienable right of existence. Developing strategies to mitigate against intimate partner Gender-Based Violence is imperatively needed to curb these physical attacks on women. The purpose of this article is to highlight some forms and the causes of Gender-Based Violence, the impact of it, and with aim of finding lasting solutions to it. Some of the findings of the author are, first, religion has played a fundamental role to perpetuate gender-based Violence on women over time. Second, a clear understanding of different types of Gender-Based Violence is needed by both men and women in society before. Gender-Based Violence if not controlled and eliminated can lead to femicide as we have seen in South Africa in recent years. Third, more protective laws for women need to be properly implemented within our criminal justice process. Tougher and stiffer punishment for perpetrators of Gender-Based Violence is needed to curb the scourge of femicide, plaguing us in South Africa.

‘Hard-pressed on every side’: Christian women’s experiences of intimate partner violence in two provinces of South Africa

“…Police were found to not take the participants’ plight seriously. This is congruent with the study of (Yesufu 2022 :97), who identified police as lacking the capacity and sensitivity required to address IPV matters, and that makes victims feel responsible or at fault, thus contributing to secondary victimisation (Gouws 2022 :2; Gumani 2022 :380).…”

“…South Africa takes fourth place globally in terms of excessive acts of gendered violence (Yesufu 2022 :96), and this is an extremely concerning position the country finds itself in. Of the various types of gender-based violence (GBV), intimate partner violence (IPV) is a considerably rampant type of GBV (Nguyen et al 2022 :2), and has been found to affect 20% to 50% of women in South Africa (Sere, Roman & Ruiter 2021 :2).…”

Self-Defence and Battered Woman Syndrome in a Selected isiXhosa Short Story

“…In many jurisdictions, evidence of BWS has been used in criminal trials to support self-defence claims for women and young girls who have harmed or killed their abusers. This defence, in large part, has been based on the argument that the victim's actions were a response to a genuine fear for their life or safety (Yesufu 2022). At the same time, the admissibility and weight given to BWS evidence in legal proceedings vary by jurisdiction.…”

From ‘Victim’ to ‘Survivor’: Deconstructing the Pervasive Notion of Victimhood in Discourses Around Programmes Dealing With Gender-Based Violence

“…GBV in South Africa has reached extreme and crisis proportions (Clark, 2020;Yesufu, 2022). It continues to make news headlines in South Africa despite the government's efforts to curb it.…”