Pretoria: A comprehensive study on gender-based violence in South Africa has disclosed that approximately 7,310,389 women aged 18 and older have endured physical violence at some point in their lives. This revelation was part of the first South African National Gender-Based Violence Prevalence Study: A Baseline Survey on Victimisation and Perpetration, released by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) during a media briefing held in Pretoria.
According to South African Government News Agency, the study provides detailed findings on the prevalence of gender-based violence across all nine provinces of South Africa, focusing on physical, sexual, emotional, and economic violence, along with psychological abuse such as controlling behaviors among adults and youth aged 18 and older. The research also delved into the perpetration of violence by men against female partners and the influence of gender norms in perpetuating gender-based violence.
Presented by HSRC Research Director Dr. Nompumelelo Zungu, the stu
dy highlighted that lifetime physical violence was significantly more prevalent among Black African women, with 35.5% having experienced such violence, compared to women from other racial groups. Furthermore, women who were cohabiting but not married reported higher instances of lifetime physical violence (43.4%) compared to their married counterparts or those not currently in a relationship.
The study’s findings on lifetime sexual violence revealed that an estimated 2,150,342 women nationally had encountered sexual violence, with a notably higher prevalence among women who were cohabiting but not married (14.9%) compared to married women (8.5%). Overall, 35.5% of women reported experiencing lifetime physical and/or sexual violence, translating to an estimated 7,847,438 women affected across South Africa.
Recent experiences of gender-based violence were also assessed, with about 1,536,729 women reporting incidents of physical and/or sexual violence in the past year. Of these, 1,338,336 women faced physical
violence, while 432,525 experienced sexual violence within the same timeframe.
The study also uncovered significant insights into physical intimate partner violence (IPV), revealing that around 3,221,649 ever-partnered women had suffered such violence from a partner during their lifetime. Dr. Zungu pointed out that lifetime physical IPV was notably higher among women cohabiting with partners but not married (22.4%) compared to currently married women (18.5%).
Perpetration of physical IPV by men was also examined, with an estimated 2,495,451 men reported as having committed such acts towards a partner. The study indicated that this behavior often began early and was more prevalent among men aged 25-34 (20.5%) and 35-49 (17.6%) compared to younger men aged 18-24 (9.2%).
The study concluded with recommendations for The Presidency, in collaboration with the Department of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities, to lead consensus-building workshops with civil society and other stakeholders. These efforts ai
m to develop actionable, evidence-based interventions to address the complexities of gender-based violence across various societal levels, emphasizing the need for a collaborative approach to effectively implement these strategies.