Dr Sheetal Bhoola is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Zululand, and director at StellarMaths (Sunningdale)
We live in a nation where the home and community spaces should be the ultimate safe haven for our women and children. Unfortunately, these spaces are no longer safe, but rather the sites of the greatest trauma. Inevitably, our social ills have now eroded the sense of belonging and safety that is deeply rooted in human dignity, well-being and our need for survival.
Children and women today experience significant abuse within these spaces. In recent years, the number of incidents of sexual, verbal and physical abuse that have occurred at schools in South Africa is a testament to that. The Human Sciences Research Council's latest National GBV Study confirms that one in three South African women will experience physical violence in their lifetime. As Chetty (2026) notes, "When violence against women flourishes, violence against children follows inextricably."
These statistics and narratives that bring to the fore the experiences of GBV victims highlight the grave shortcomings of our political leadership and their inability to protect the well-being of South Africans. Victims can immediately call the South African Police Service and other telephone helpline services (GBV Command Centre, Stop Gender Violence, Tears Foundation and Childline South Africa), whose role is to arrange transport and accommodation to a safe house.
