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Impactful research to help victims of gender-based violence post-COVID-19

19 September 2022 | Story André Damons | Photo André Damons

A lecturer at the University of the Free State (UFS) Faculty of Health Sciences hopes his research into the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on gender-based violence (GBV) among women, could assist the victims and especially government and organisations to address this evil post-COVID-19.

Sithembiso Ndlovu, a Public Health Lecturer in the Division of Public Health, Office of the Dean of Health Sciences, says this research was a narrative review paper which aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on GBV among women since there is inadequate established literature on this topic, particularly in South Africa. The focus was on intimate partner violence.

He started working on the review in February 2021 and finished in August the same year where after the paper was published by the African Journal of Reproductive Health (AJRH) in July 2022. He says he believes his research aligns with the UFS narrative of creating opportunities and growth through leading, learning and teaching, focused research, and impactful engagement with society given the quality of the research that his review upholds.

Looking at the state and impact of GBV

Says Ndlovu: “I believe my research will be impactful in academia and in the lives of women who experienced GBV during lockdown. The study will also be impactful to women who will experience GBV in the future through recommended interventions, which I believe government departments and various GBV-oriented organisations can adopt to curb the increase in GBV cases in the country post-COVID-19 pandemic.

”All in all, the research expresses the notion of care for the well-being of South African women who are voiceless or powerless and thus creates an opportunity for them to be able to seek help.”

The researcher says he wanted to look at the state and impact of GBV among women during the pandemic in the South African context and lay a foundation for prospective interventions to mitigate the increase of GBV cases during the lockdown. He envisages government departments and local organisations that deal with issues relating to GBV to consider the proposed interventions.

“Also, it remains vital to engage men on the importance of GBV and the role they can play in decreasing the prevalence of this second pandemic after the COVID-19 as President Cyril Ramaphosa noted,” says Ndlovu.

According to him, without proper and accessible support, there will always be an increased risk of victimisation, even in households where there was no violence before the lockdown. Multipronged and all-inclusive intervention strategies are needed to address the prevalence of GBV cases effectively and sufficiently in South Africa.

What does the research show?

Ndlovu says the research found that there are multiple factors that contributed to the surge in GBV cases in South Africa, including alcohol availability and consumption, job losses, financial dependence, psychological distress, and emotional imbalances during the lockdown. During the restrictive lockdown, women were more exposed to the aggressors at home, where varying hostile power dynamics prevail, leaving the victims with limited opportunity to find any potential help and support due to limited mobility.

“When I was drafting the paper, there was limited literature on GBV during COVID-19 and comparing and contrasting statistics between the two periods was challenging. At the start of lockdown in March 2020, 87 000 cases of GBV and interpersonal violence were reported, a significant increase compared to pre-COVID-19.

“However, the reports did not specify the type of interpersonal violence, and GBV reported or the gender of the aggressor although it has been widely reported that male partners perpetrate most IPV.”

Interventions

Ndlovu wrote in the research article that key intervention strategies in combating GBV and ensuring that victims are supported adequately include dialogues and interventions around high-level communication and behaviour change programmes, prioritisation of reported cases, and developing interventions tailored to respond to the economically vulnerable circumstances women encounter.

“There should be an emergency strengthening of the support systems that could be utilised by women experiencing violence and who are planning to escape the violent environment during regulated lockdown curfew periods in South Africa.

“Interventions should also include denormalising violence against women by their male counterparts and men in general. This could be implemented through educational programmes in communities, including schools where violence is prevalent. In this regard, an evaluation study on a school violence programme in Tshwane found that the programme increased positive knowledge of violence and attitudes toward violence. The recommended services must also be offered in all South African official languages to ensure that information is received and understood extensively,” he wrote.

GBV-related programmes need to be prioritised in every sector and government department. This would necessitate realistic measures and activities to ensure impact. Governments must collaborate with various organisations to derive interventions by eliminating factors contributing to a surge in GBV cases.

News Archive

A new dawn for student governance

2011-09-02

Our SRC presidents: Richard Chemaly (Bloemfontein Campus) and Bongani Ncgaca (Qwaqwa Campus)
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

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The successful and peaceful completion of the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Student Representative (SRC) elections 2011 herals a new dawn for student governance with the announcement of the results today (1 September 2011).

The SRC elections at the Qwaqwa Campus were completed on 25 August 2011, while the elections at our Bloemfontein Campus took place on 29 and 30 August 2011.

“A new dawn heralds a new day when Richard Chemaly, the son of Lebanese immigrants becomes President of an SRC, as elected by students from all racial backgrounds and from across the student body at large. A new day has arrived when candidates could have won voter support across racial lines; a new day is here when all SRC members are now recognised leaders on the basis of academic accountability,” the Dean of Student Affairs, Mr Rudi Buys, says.

A new dawn has arrived; firstly, insofar as student elections for the choice of student leaders at the UFS now proceed according to a non-racial and a non-party political basis.

Not only did the SRC elections at both the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses achieve its required quorum, with 31% (4 729 votes) and 50% (2 112 votes) voter turnout, respectively, but the SRC elected by students at the Bloemfontein Campus is 55% black and 45% white, and 60% female and 40% male. The numbers of votes gained by successful candidates also indicate that voters from all racial backgrounds have voted for their candidates of choice.

Secondly, a new dawn has arrived insofar as student governance occupied by only some student groups claiming to speak on behalf of all students has made way for direct voting for candidates by the broad student body and the threefold increase of student governance structures on campus.

Not only did all students at our Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses (a total of 15 173 and 4 257, respectively) have the opportunity to participate in voting directly, but nine additional Student Councils were established at our Bloemfontein Campus that each holds an ex officio seat on the SRC and allows for student governance in all the major student sectors of the student body, such as for postgraduate students, international students and all categories of student associations.

The various councils now established include the Student Academic Affairs Council, the Student Associations Council, the Postgraduate Student Council, the International Student Council, the Student Media Council, the Residences Student Council, the Commuter Student Council and the Rag Community Service Fundraising and Service Councils. In addition, all faculties also introduced student representative structures at departmental and faculty level in 2011 to ensure student participation in faculty management and governance.

The SRC members at the Bloemfontein Campus are:

Elective portfolios:
President: Mr Richard Chemaly
Vice-President: Mr Lefata David Maklein
Secretary: Ms Matshepo Ramokgadi
Treasurer: Mr Werner Pretorius
Arts & Culture: Ms Alta Grobelaar
Accessibility & Student Support: Mr William Clayton
First-generation Students: Ms Petre du Plessis
Media, Marketing & Liaison: Ms Biejanka Calitz
Sport: Mr Bonolo Thebe
Student Development & Environmental Affairs: Ms Busisiwe Madikizela
Transformation: Ms Qaqamba Mhlauli

Ex officio portfolios:
Dialogue & Ex officio: Associations Student Council: Mr Anesu Ruswa
Academic Affairs & Ex officio: Academic Affairs Student Council: Mr Jean Vermaas
Residence Affairs & Ex officio: Campus Residences Student Council: Ms Mpho Mokaleng
City student Affairs & Ex officio: Commuter Student Council: Ms Annemieke Plekker
Postgraduate Affairs & Ex officio: Postgraduate Student Council: Ms Glancina Mokone
International Affairs & Ex officio: International Student Council: Mr Pitso Ramokoatsi
Student Media Affairs & Ex officio: Student Media Council: Ms Nicole Heyns
RAG Community Service & Ex officio: RAG Fundraising Council: Ms Iselma Parker
RAG Community Service & Ex officio: RAG Community Service Council: Ms Motheo Pooe

In the Qwaqwa elections, SASCO achieved 36,84% of the vote, with SADESMO, PASMA and NASMO each achieving 29,73% and 18,56% and 12,74%, respectively .

Mr Bongani Ncgaca was elected as the President of the SRC at our Qwaqwa Campus, while the names of the SRC members at the campus will be announced on 7 September 2011.

The Central SRC will be established on 8 September 2011 by a joint sitting of the two SRCs.

The successful completion of the SRC elections at the Bloemfontein Campus follows a yearlong review process of student governance by a Broad Student Transformation Forum (BSTF) that consists of 59 delegations from student organisations and residences. The BSTF adopted independent candidacy for elective portfolios and additional student councils to provide ex officio seats on the SRC as the template for student governance, following the consideration of a series of benchmarking reports on student governance nationally and internationally.

The UFS Council adopted the new SRC Constitution, as drafted and submitted by the BSTF, on 3 June 2011.

Media Release
1 September 2011
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

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