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Development of an Information Management System on Violence Against Women and Children in South Africa

There is wide-spread acknowledgement that accurate data on the level of violence against women and children is not available in South Africa. As part of the DFID-funded Safer South Africa programme, the Gender & Health Unit of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) was tasked to establish the location of the data pertaining to violence against women and children, as well as how this data is used The goal was to inform the conceptualisation of an information management system.

Capacity assessment of mental health services for rape victims in acute health-care settings: A rapid appraisal of services in the Western Cape Province

Sexual violence and HIV are two serious public health problems in South Africa. Population-based prevalence studies with men found 28.37% disclose rape perpetration and 12.25% of women report victimisation (Machisa, Jewkes et al. 2011). In 2012, UNAIDS reported substantial decreases in new HIV infections, but HIV remains a critical health problem in South Africa, with 5.6 million people living with HIV in South Africa (UNAIDS, 2012; Shisana, 2005). In populations with high HIV prevalence such as South Africa, HIV transmission through rape is a serious issue.

What Works To Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls

What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls is an innovative global programme working in 13 countries across the world building the evidence base on What Works to prevent violence in low-middle income settings.

Responding to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women. WHO clinical and policy guidelines

Women who have been subjected to violence often seek health care, including for their injuries, even if they do not disclose the associated abuse or violence. A health-care provider is likely to be the first professional contact for survivors of intimate partner violence or sexual assault. Statistics show that abused women use health-care services more than non-abused women do. They also identify health-care providers as the professionals they would most trust with disclosure of abuse.

Global and regional estimates of violence against women: Prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence

Report published through a partnership between the South African Medical Research Council, the World Health Organization and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.  

Every eight hours: Intimate femicide in South Africa 10 years later!

The killing of a woman by her partner is the most extreme consequence of intimate partner violence. Monitoring such violence provides insights on the impact of laws, policies and programs for gender-based violence prevention. In this research brief we compare the results  of two South African national studies that described prevalence and patterns of female homicide and intimate femicide in 1999 and 2009. The study showed a decrease of female homicides overall as well as for intimate femicides but the decrease for intimates was at a  lower rate.

Child homicide patterns in South Africa: Is there a link to child abuse?

The South African Constitution’s Bill of Rights provides children the right to care and protection, yet thousands of children experience abuse daily (physical/sexual and psychological) (1). Not much is known about child homicides in South Africa. Only one South African  study using data from the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System (NIMSS) for four urban areas among 0-14 year olds report homicide rates following similar patterns to global rates, with the highest rate among young male children aged 0-4 years (2).

Strengthening Research and Action on Gender-based Violence in Africa

Gender-based violence (GBV) and especially violence against women has gained international recognition as a grave social and human rights concern affecting virtually all societies. Progress in addressing GBV can be attributed in large part to groundbreaking studies, such as the World Health Organiza-tion (WHO) Multi-Country Study on Domestic Violence and Women’s Health,1 which provide evidence needed to advocate for strong laws and policies and to develop locally relevant programs.

The war @ home: Preliminary findings of the Gauteng Gender Violence Prevalence Study

Over half the women of Gauteng (51.2%) have experienced some form of violence (emotional, economic, physical or sexual) in their lifetime and 78.3% of men in the province admit to perpetrating some form of violence against women.

Respect 4 U

What is Respect 4 U?

Respect 4 U is an intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention programme aimed at young adolescents. The 17-lesson programme was originally designed for implementation in Grade 8 Life Orientation classes.

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