Young women aged 15-24 in South Africa bear a large burden of both intimate partner violence and HIV due to having little power in society. Gender-based violence includes violence against women and girls, LGBTQI+ people, intimate partner violence, domestic violence, sexual violence, and structural violence. A 2017 incident at Fort Hare University involved a female student being gang raped by three men after a dance, demonstrating the prevalence of gender-based violence in South Africa.

2. The intersection of GBV and HIV/Aids.
In South Africa, “young women aged 15 - 24 years, who
have the least power in society, bear an enormous
burden of both intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV.
”
Proposition:
“I always have the right to insist on safe sexual
practices. I always have the right to say no to sex, even

3. What is GBV? Gender Based Violence:
“the general term used to capture
violence that occurs as a result of the
normative role expectations
associated with each gender, along
with the unequal power relationships
between … genders, within the
context of a specific society.”
Bloom, S. 2008.

4. GBV includes:
Click on the numbers to
find out!
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1. Violence against women
and girls (VAWG)
2. Violence against LGBTQI+
people
3. Intimate partner violence
(IPV)
4. Domestic violence (DV)
5. Sexual violence (SV)
6. Indirect (structural)
violence
7. Sex for
marks/accomodation

5. GBV at Fort Hare
During the 2017
intervarsity at the
University of Fort Hare,
Alice campus, a student
was gang raped by three
unknown men. The men
then forced her to take a
shower after the rape, in
order to get rid of any
possible evidence.
(Majangaza, 2017)
“Upon opening my
room from Disco late
at night, these two
guys pushed me in
with knives and raped
me” [Bachelor of
Education, Aged 18]
(J Kheswa & V Hoho,
2017)
Recent
femicide of
Nosicelo
Mtebeni

6. GBV in South Africa
•People of all genders
perpetrate and experience IPV
and/or SV, but men are most
often perpetrators and women
and children victims. Dartnall, E. and
R. Jewkes, 2012.
•56% women murdered in 2009
were killed by an intimate male
partner. Abrahams, N., et al., 2013
•Approximately 25% to 40% of
SA women have experienced
sexual and/or physical IPV in
their lifetime. Machisa, M., et al., 2011

7. Consent
On most sexual
issues – the key
matter that we
prioritise is consent.
A lack of consent in
issues of sex is what
characterises rape and
sexually assault.
Can be contentious in courts –
when is consent clear enough?
Is it there if the person is drunk
or on drugs? If they say yes and
then change their minds?
What about if they say yes,
but their consent is shaped by
other circumstances (eg. Peer
pressure, financial pressure,
inequalities)…

9. On the
question
of ubuntu
Uphold, embrace and practice the
principle of Ubuntu, “l am because we
are”, “l am my brother’s keeper”
• http://www.upworthy.com/this-guy-
s-disturbing-group-chat-shows-how-
easy-it-is-for-men-to-dismiss-rape
• What can we do to ensure that rape
and other forms of GBV is not
dismissed so easily?