The Gender Based Violence Indicators Study: Western Cape Province

The Western Cape GBV Indicators Study provides the first comprehensive baseline data on violence against women in the province. It shows that 39% of women have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime, and that the same proportion of men admit to perpetrating violence.

Most of this violence takes place where all citizens should feel safest – in the home and in communities. The highest proportion of violence is the kind for which there is no category in police records – emotional, verbal and economic abuse. This is the slow but debilitating death that many women experience daily, undermining their agency and ability to participate fully and meaningfully in public life.

Twenty years into our democracy the report is a shocking wake up call to politicians and the public alike. The Western Cape is the fourth province (with Gauteng, Limpopo and Kwa Zulu Natal) to have undertaken this study. The report is a reminder that South Africa needs to upscale all the provincial reports into a national GBV Indicators Study to serve as a baseline for measuring progress in eradicating the most flagrant remaining violation of human rights post-apartheid.

ISBN: 978-0-9922433-1-9
Publisher: Gender Links
Year of Publication: 2014