South Africa
Unravelling the contribution of women’s movement activism to transforming gender-based violence policy in South Africa: Combining stories and numbers
Unravelling the contribution of women’s movement activism to transforming gender-based violence policy in South Africa: Combining stories and numbers
Building intersectional feminisms and solidarities across differences is increasingly significant to mitigate racial tension and mistrust in South Africa and the region.
Decolonial African feminist theory offers a framework for understanding and addressing GBV by considering intersecting factors such as race, class, age, sexuality, and geography. By recognising the material realities of different women's experiences, we can better confront the systemic inequalities that perpetuate violence against marginalised communities.
Figure 1: intersectionality how power, privilege, discrimination and oppression interact with gender-based violence
Decolonial feminism proposes that colonisation shaped the lives and experiences of women and LGBTIQ+ persons through an axis of power and hat coloniality, as a ‘long-standing pattern of power’, continues to do so. The experiences of women and LGBTIQ+ persons remain undervalued, unrecognised, and marginalised.
Decoloniality requires us to undo this long-standing pattern of power, recognise the strength in our Indigenous herstories and multiple differences, and reclaim our human and spiritual values as Africans. Intersectionality is, therefore, how power, privilege, discrimination, and oppression interact with ending violence against women and girls.
The South Africa case study used both qualitative and quantitative methods to examine how social movements have influenced GBV (gender-based violence) policies and legislation. Our approach included:
“For a long time, even during the struggle we spoken about how women who were part of liberation movement when they were in exile, they were brutalized and that was not necessarily part of the conversation as well” (Young feminist activist) “How it became part of our Constitution (gender equality) was really the women's movement in the 60s.
- Young female activist
With the march to Pretoria and then it's the young political activists we as young women political activists, it was always about freedom of our country before our own freedoms, so it was there and even as activists as women… we were sometimes violated both by our fellow comrades in whichever way you know.” (Older activist)
“How it became part of our Constitution (gender equality) was really the women's movement in the 60s. With the march to Pretoria … we as young women, political activists, it was always about freedom of our country before our own freedoms, so it was there and even as activists, as women… we were sometimes violated both by our fellow comrades in whichever way, you know.”
The 2018 #TotalShutdown movement in South Africa began as a social media campaign to unite women, including LGBTQIA+ members, against gender-based violence (GBV). Responding to rising femicide reports and GBV highlighted by the #EndRapeCulture campaign on campuses, feminists organized nationwide marches on August 1, 2018.
Over 40,000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, presenting 24 demands to the president—symbolizing 24 years of democracy. These demands included recognizing GBV and femicide as national crises and committing to a national plan to end GBV. The movement underscores the power of mass mobilization and diverse activism in effecting change and holding the government accountable.
In late 2005, Jacob Zuma, who was Deputy President of South Africa at the time and later went on to become the country’s president (2009- 2018), was accused of raping HIV activist Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo. Known as “Kwezi”, she was a close family friend and regarded him as an uncle. The secondary victimisation of the rape survivor because of the Zuma rape trial went unchallenged by the judge or society at large.
The ANC women’s league and Zuma supporters outside the court sang “burn the bitch” while burning her photograph. Inside the court, she was stigmatised as a “serial rape accuser” whose evidence was not reliable.
The acquittal of Jacob Zuma bolstered the view that men are entitled to rape with impunity and demonstrated the extent of the deep connections of the colonial logic to our judicial system. Kwezi had to flee the country for her own safety and, in many ways, gave up her citizenship to live a life in exile.
“In my university years, in the 80s. When I then joined the ANC Women’s League in 1991/1992, I think, to develop a first gender perspective and ready to critique the ANC policies from a gender perspective, right. That is where it starts. We needed to bring to the fore women’s issues and gender equality and equity issues in the ANC at that time, when it was launching its first policy conference.” (older activist)
South Africa's fight for gender equality stems from its anti-apartheid resistance, influencing women's activism today. Despite policies promoting equality, patriarchal leadership often blocks real progress, especially against gender-based violence (GBV). Terms like "gender equality" appear in documents but rarely lead to actual improvements. Multiple activism forms are needed—grassroots efforts, stakeholder engagement, and coalition-building are crucial. Social media movements like #TotalShutdown raise GBV awareness, but traditional methods like parliamentary submissions and legal action remain important. Empowering communities to understand and shape policy is essential, ensuring survivors' voices guide policies to address lived experiences.
Since 1994, South Africa has established laws to protect the rights of women and children. The Constitution promotes equality and focuses on marginalized groups, thanks to advocacy from the Women's National Coalition. The country has ratified international treaties like the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. These commitments require South Africa to address violence against women and children and report progress to global organizations. Aligning national laws with these international agreements marks significant progress toward gender equality and protection.
“Women being killed, you still have lesbians being raped, because of so many things are still happening yet. Technically they're supposed to be protected, because there’s legislation so legislation alone is not enough. Education alone is not enough, so I think we need to figure out other tools, but also the gap, the classes gap that exists.”
Women's struggle for gender equality in South Africa is deeply tied to the fight against apartheid, influencing activism and policy today. While feminist movements have shaped policies, their impact depends on political leadership. High-level commitment, especially from the President, is crucial to challenge the deep-rooted norms behind gender-based violence (GBV). Unfortunately, lack of political will often reduces gender transformation to mere words in policies without real change.
Phrases like "gender equality" and "women's empowerment" are common but haven't improved women's safety or support from systems like criminal justice. There's a disconnect between policy and actual equality, which remains theoretical unless societal attitudes shift. Movements like the #TotalShutdown highlight issues like sexual violence and femicide, emphasizing the need for intersectional and multifaceted activism.
Despite policy advances and institutions like the Commission for Gender Equality, GBV levels remain extraordinarily high, and poor Black women still struggle to access justice. This underscores the urgent need to address the structural roots of women's oppression and the perpetuation of gendered violence.
Shanaaz Matthews is a professor and specialist researcher in the Faculty of Health Sciences at University of Cape Town. She has more than 30 years’ experience in the women’s and children’s sectors and have worked within civil society organisations, as an academic, and technical advisor to government programmes specializing in violence against women and children. She is a Commissioner on the Lancet Commission on GBV, a founding member of the Coalition for Good Schools, and a managing committee member for the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence on Human Development, at the University of the Witwatersrand. Shanaaz serves evaluation co-lead for FCDO What Work to prevent VAWG programme.
Benita Moolman is an Associate Professor and researcher in the African Feminist Studies Department. She teaches in the under and postgraduate curriculum on African feminist theories and activisms, African post and decolonial feminist geographies, African feminist knowing and knowledge-making. Her research interests are ending sexual and gender-based violence, masculinities, racialized violence and spatial injustice, and narrative methodologies. She has worked at Rape Crisis Cape Town, and has a M(Phil)Women and Gender Studies (UWC) and a D.(Phil) in African Feminist Geography (UCDavis). Seg has written and published extensively.
Dr Thelma Oppelt is a Junior Research Fellow at the University of Cape Town. Her research focus is the intersection of violence against women and violence against children. She has a PhD in Psychology from Nelson Mandela University focused on the link between addiction and Intimate Partner Violence. Previously Thelma worked as a Researcher at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and Senior Programmes Manager and Emergency Safehouse Manager at New World Foundation.
“Hope lies in the power of solidarity and coalition-building between diverse groups of women, non-conforming, gender fluid and intersectional communities”
Unravelling the contribution of women’s movement activism to transforming gender-based violence policy in South Africa: Combining stories and numbers
