Gender-based violence (GBV) remains shockingly prevalent across South Africa. Despite the country's robust legal framework and policies aimed at tackling GBV, experts say the practice is deeply rooted in societal norms and incidents continue to escalate at an alarming rate. In 2024 , the HSRC released The First South African National Gender-Based Violence Study. The HSRC survey showed that a third (33.1%) of South African women over the age of 18 had experienced physical violence in their lifetime ..

To engage more on this topic,  Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Dr.  Natisha Dukhi, Senior Research Specialist in the Public Health, Societies and Belonging from the research division at the Human Sciences Research Council and Gugu Nonjinge , Advocacy Specialist from the Centre for Study of Violence and Reconciliation