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A video of the Conference.

The Regional Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Prevention Conference themed “Advancing Data and Evidence for GBV Prevention and SRHR in Southern Africa” was convened on 6 and 7 March 2024 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Co-hosted by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) through its regional programme “Partnerships for Prevention of Gender-Based Violence in Southern Africa” (PfP II), in collaboration with the European Union, Ford Foundation, Sweden, and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI). The conference brought together 177 participants from all 16 SADC Member States representing various sectors, including government, civil society, development partners, and researchers.

La Conférence régionale sur la prévention de la violence basée sur le genre (VBG), intitulée « faire progresser les données et les preuves pour la prévention de la VBG et la SSR en Afrique australe », a été organisée les 6 et 7 mars 2024 à Johannesburg, en Afrique du Sud. Co-organisé par le Secrétariat de la Communauté de développement de l’Afrique australe (SADC) et la Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) à travers son programme régional “partenariats pour la prévention de la violence sexiste en Afrique australe” (PPP II), en collaboration avec l’Union européenne, la Fondation Ford, Suède, et l’Initiative de recherche sur la violence sexuelle (SVRI). La conférence a rassemblé 177 participants des 16 États membres de la SADC représentant divers secteurs, y compris les gouvernements, la société civile, les partenaires de développement et les chercheurs.

A Conferência Regional de Prevenção da Violência com Base no Género (VBG) com o tema “Avanço de Dados e Evidências para a Prevenção da VBG e SRHR na África Austral” foi convocada a 6 e 7 de Março de 2024 em Joanesburgo, África do Sul. Co-organizada pelo Secretariado da Comunidade de Desenvolvimento da África Austral (SADC) e pela Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) através do seu programa regional “Parcerias para a Prevenção da Violência com Base no Género na África Austral” (PfP II), em colaboração com a União Europeia, Fundação Ford, Suécia, e a Iniciativa de Investigação sobre Violência Sexual (SVRI). A conferência reuniu 177 participantes de todos os 16 Estados Membros da SADC, representando vários sectores, incluindo o governo, a sociedade civil, os parceiros de desenvolvimento e os investigadores.

The SADC Secretariat has developed this Handbook to provide guidance to SADC Member States and other stakeholders on effective GBV prevention strategies and approaches. The Handbook identifies key entry points for effective GBV prevention, including at household, community and societal levels.

The SADC Secretariat, in collaboration with the Ford Foundation and the PfP programme, organised an online regional workshop on coordination of GBV prevention, which took place in March 2021. The main aim of the regional  workshop was to generate awareness and understanding of coordinated, multidisciplinary GBV prevention mechanisms and actions across key sectors and governance levels.
The workshop was attended by more than 80 SADC delegates from all 16 SADC Member States. Presentations and discussions around good practices and lessons learnt on GBV coordination mechanisms were shared, to provide entry points for adaptations to suit each country’s context.

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a widespread violation of human rights in South Africa, which also occurs in schools. Yet, schools are recognized as an important entry point for GBV prevention activities. A school-based intervention may prevent violence in schools and influence communities overall through educators, learners and parents/caregivers. A multisectoral and coordinated approach aimed at working with a diverse set of stakeholders is fundamental in preventing GBV to ensure the safety of school learners.

The information presented in the Policy Brief on Food (In)Security and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is anchored in the systematic literature review “Links between Food insecurity and Violence Against Women in Low- and Middle-Income Settings” commissioned by PfP and focuses on Sub-Saharan Africa, synthesizing hands-on recommendations for programmers and policy-makers alike.

Considering the magnitude of VAWG in Southern Africa, a broad-based approch is at the core for effective non-fragmented results. The regional programme Partnerships for Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls in Southern Africa (PfP) therefore sup-ports the formation of multi-stakeholder initiatives. These initia-tives bring together government institutions, civil society organi-zations (CSOs), private sector actors, the media and academia to combine efforts of financial and technical contributions to pre-vent VAWG. In Zambia, the VAWG Communication flagship supports the MoGD with re-institutionalizing the ‘Clearing House’ at national level and developing structures for a ‘Clearing House’ at provincial and district levels to ensure that messages on VAWG are coordinated, coherent, contextualized and of high quality.

Under the regional programme “Partnerships for Preven-tion of Violence Against Women and Girls in Southern Africa” (PfP), a flagship project for training police officers on prevention of GBV was developed by the Zambia Police Service (ZPS) with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The initiative aims at changing police officers’ attitudes to recognize GBV as unacceptable and capacitating offic-ers with skills to effectively handle and prevent GBV cases.

The regional programme “Partnerships for Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls in Southern Africa” (PfP) hosted the regional conference in collaboration with SADC, MRC, DFID, the Canadian High Commission and the Ford Foundation. It was held in Johannesburg, South Africa 4-5 December 2019.  

The study aimed at gaining a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities experienced in the South African entertainment television sector when creating and producing gender-sensitive and non-stereotyped stories and informing the industry on how to promote more gender-sensitive content and the portrayal of characters in non-stereotypical roles. The study followed a two-phase mixed-methods approach that included consultations, a literature review, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with representatives from the film and media sector.

To gain insights into key stakeholders in Zimbabwe working on the prevention of and response to violence against women and girls (VAWG), their cooperation and capacity needs, the GIZ Partnerships for Prevention (PfP) programme commissioned Syspons GmbH to conduct a comprehensive stakeholder and network analysis. The analysis identified key stakeholders’ efforts to prevent VAWG, examined their activities and forms of engagements, analysed the extent and quality of cooperation between stakeholders and identified capacity needs for increased cooperation. 

The study aimed at gaining a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities experienced in the South African entertainment television sector when creating and producing gender-sensitive and non-stereotyped stories and informing the industry on how to promote more gender-sensitive content and the portrayal of characters in non-stereotypical roles. The study followed a two-phase mixed-methods approach that included consultations, a literature review, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with representatives from the film and media sector. 

This brief video describes the link between COVID-19 and gender-based violence (GBV) as well as the important role different stakeholders, communities, families and individuals can play to prevent and address GBV.

Watch the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lthLW7Ik6Ck 

South Africa and the world is grappling with the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic on every sphere of life. In the day to day reporting on COVID-19, the impact on women, girls and gender non-conforming persons can at times be invisible. The guideline provides guidance to journalists, content producers, media creatives and editors on how to report on the gendered impact of COVID-19.

Gender Links undertook extensive reserach on current dynamics of gender representation, stereotyping and the portrayal of GBV in South African television. The key findings of the study reflect the unequal gender dynamics at play within broader society. Gender stereotypes are still prevalent, women’s voices are heard less and decision making still lies with men. Women compromise 77% of programme creators but just 15% of directors in entertainment, broadly, content creation remains a “man’s world”.

In its efforts to support contextually relevant approaches to prevent VAWG, the GIZ programme Partnerships for Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls and the GIZ Sector Programme Values, Religion and Development commissioned a religious and traditional actors mapping (RTAM) in the Southern Province of Zambia. The mapping explored existing efforts of religious and traditional leaders and faith-based organisations (FBOs) in the context of gender-based violence and VAWG. In so doing, the analysis aims at providing  recommendations for engaging with religious and traditional leaders and actors and FBOs in the context of VAWG.

Since beginning of 2018, PfP supports the ‘Nokaneng’- flagship, an initiative that brings together government, non-governmental and private sector actors in Lesotho, and supports their joint efforts to reducing the acceptance of VAWG. ‘Nokaneng’ includes three components: Digital solutions, media and community-based interventions. This learning brief documents lessons from the conceptualisation and development process of digital solutions to address VAWG in Lesotho.

Gender Links undertook extensive reserach on current dynamics of gender representation, stereotyping and the portrayal of GBV in South African television. The key findings of the study reflect the unequal gender dynamics at play within broader society. Gender stereotypes are still prevalent, women’s voices are heard less and decision making still lies with men. Women compromise 77% of programme creators but just 15% of directors in entertainment, broadly, content creation remains a “man’s world”.

To gain insights into key stakeholders in Lesotho working on the prevention of and response to violence against women and girls (VAWG), their cooperation and capacity needs, the GIZ Partnerships for Prevention (PfP) programme commissioned Syspons GmbH to conduct a comprehensive stakeholder and network analysis. The analysis identified key stakeholders’ efforts to prevent VAWG, examined their activities and forms of engagements, analysed the extent and quality of cooperation between stakeholders and identified capacity needs for increased cooperation.

To gain insights into key stakeholders in South Africa working on the prevention of and response to violence against women and girls (VAWG), their cooperation and capacity needs, the GIZ Partnerships for Prevention (PfP) programme commissioned Syspons GmbH to conduct a comprehensive stakeholder and network analysis. The analysis identified key stakeholders’ efforts to prevent VAWG, examined their activities and forms of engagements, analysed the extent and quality of cooperation between stakeholders and identified capacity needs for increased cooperation.

To gain insights into key stakeholders in Zambia, Southern Province, working on the prevention of and response to violence against women and girls (VAWG), their cooperation and capacity needs, the GIZ Partnerships for Prevention (PfP) programme commissioned Syspons GmbH to conduct a comprehensive stakeholder and network analysis. The analysis identified key stakeholders’ efforts to prevent VAWG, examined their activities and forms of engagements, analysed the extent and quality of cooperation between stakeholders and identified capacity needs for increased cooperation.