I have just returned from the sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. In 2025, members of the CSW global community marked the review of the Beijing+30, regarded as the most progressive blueprint for advancing women’s empowerment. It provides a framework for […]
Seven women are killed in the country each day and nearly six in 10 of such murders are at the hand of an intimate partner
The support systems that GBV survivors depend on are being damaged by cost cuts, making it harder for them to escape violence and seek justice
It is up to actors at all levels of society to rescue institutionalised prejudice that undermines the freedom and dignity of women and girls
We must recognise the intersectional issues that different communities face if we are to address gender-based violence adequately
The British high commissioner to South Africa reflects on the value of the United Nations for the UK and South Africa to achieve shared objectives
In their exhibition ‘Bitches Brew’, three South African artists juggle good manners and the grotesque
Artists whose work speaks against gender violence is art as activism that shows the need for more than 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence
Government and civil society need to listen to those who are most at risk to ensure policies are effective
Despite strong legislation, South Africa is failing to address its unacceptable rates of woman abuse
Nonprofit organisations that provide trauma counselling and shelter to survivors of rape and violence have had to shut their doors
Suspects still at large following the execution-style killing of three women aged 17, 20 and 21
Three young women have been shot dead execution-style in one of Cape Town’s gang-riddled communities
Gender-based violence often takes place at home or in intimate relationships, taking a traumatic toll on victims, their families and friends
The second part of an edited extract from Femicide in South Africa (Kwela) by Nechama Brodie lists the names of black lesbians who were murdered, allegedly because of their sexual orientation
In her book ‘Femicide in South Africa’, journalist and researcher Nechama Brodie examines the violent history the country’s black lesbians have endured
“Every day, on average, 137 women are killed by a member of their own family,” said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director, in a statement released in March last year. These appalling figures are just one of the many consequences of gender-based violence and abuse, namely domestic abuse, which is defined as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner
SA is in a rush to roll out its national GBV action plan. But as bureaucracy and the pandemic slow progress, violence against women continues unabated
This is an ode to the women whose names made it into news outlets from 2018 to 2020. It’s also a tribute to the faceless, nameless women whose stories remain untold.
The interim steering committee tasked with setting up a gender-based violence and femicide structure has not been convened for almost two years
Using an ever-present danger works to benefit men — no matter their education, profession, class or outward social behaviour
Measures such as better street lighting, training the police and enforcing gun control can effect real change
Funded by the private sector, the government will be able to ‘scale up’ initiatives against this second pandemic
If a man has the temerity to shoot a woman inside a police station, in front of law enforcement officers, then the country has an even bigger GBV problem than it thinks.
Backlogs, booze, testicular cancer — all factors blamed for the apparent ineptitude or unwillingness to tackle a pandemic that is silently killing women all over the country.
Viwe Dalingozi’s story, like many others, is painful to read and write about. But in court it simply drags on like any other case. As we have written so many times, this cannot be the status quo.
Black women and trans artists are worthy of support but it should not come with terms and restrictions
During the lockdown, artists must rethink their place in the system. Now is the chance to advocate and appreciate the human condition of being constantly and chaotically in flux
Women will be disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic, particularly considering their contribution as caregivers, in both professional and domestic settings
Justice minister embarks on parole reform after recent murders of two Western Cape children allegedly by parolees
After initially overlooking key witnesses in one of the most horrific murder cases in South Africa, the state has brought them in to speak up
Follow the principle of ‘do no harm’ and teach youth about their responsibilities and kindness