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Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a critical issue within South African universities. It affects students’ safety, well-being, and access to quality education. Despite efforts to address this issue, universities continue to experience cases of sexual violence, harassment, emotional abuse, and coercion. Student protests and public concern have also exposed weaknesses in institutional responses and survivor protection. This study aims to systematically review existing literature on GBV in South African universities to identify what is currently known, how GBV is understood, and what gaps exist in literature. The study was guided by Social Learning and Intersectionality theories. A qualitative systematic literature review approach was adopted. The findings revealed that GBV is shaped by harmful gender norms, patriarchal attitudes, alcohol and substance abuse, economic vulnerability, and weak institutional accountability. Literature review further revealed that many survivors avoid reporting incidents because of fear, stigma, victim-blaming, and distrust in institutional systems. GBV was also found to have serious psychological, social, physical, and academic effects on students. The study concludes that GBV remains a structural challenge within South African higher education institutions. The study recommends stronger institutional accountability, survivor-centred support services, gender transformation programmes, and collaborative interventions to create safer university environments.

Despite National and International commitments for gender equality and victims or survivours of sexual encounters, the envisaged protections, gaps in legislative frameworks, and institutional policies implementation exist, coupled with underreporting and inadequate institutional response. The student sexual victimisations in South African universities remain a persistent challenge, necessitating comprehensive legislative and institutional policies to ensure student safety and security for potential victims. Objectively, this study describes the effectiveness of existing legislative frameworks and institutional policies to address sexual victimisation in the selected South African rural and urban universities. This qualitative study used the descriptive research design to follow the predetermined steps of a documentary study, focusing on documentary sources and the electronic databases; the reviewed data was subjected to the non-probability: Purposive sampling for selections, the keywords/phrases were used to filter info relevant to the study objective, using the Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA), the collected data was restricted to 1979-2024 (not in sequence), with the six (6) phases of inductive Textual Content Analysis (TCA) employed for data analysis and identification of three (3) study themes. This study showcases key challenges, including staff-student power dynamics, lack of independent oversight and inconsistencies in legislative frameworks and institutional policies enforcement. The witnessed disparities between the selected South African universities and international best practices are shared, emphasising the need for victim/survivor-centred approaches, enhanced reporting mechanisms, and mandatory training programmes. The study concludes by proposing effective legislative frameworks and institutional policies as recommendations for strengthening institutional accountability, promoting awareness, and ensuring holistic support for victims.

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a critical issue in South African universities, affecting students' access to safe and quality education. Despite universities’ reputations for inclusivity, societal expectations have made them less welcoming, and GBV cases continue to rise with insufficient policy enforcement. This study was motivated by the rising cases of GBV in South African universities. Drawing on social norms’ theory, the study aimed to identify the drivers, effects, and potential mitigation strategies for addressing GBV. The goal was to build a stronger basis for improving policies and creating safer, more inclusive university environments. A qualitative approach was used to gather secondary data from various sources, including journal articles, books, government documents, and news reports. The literature revealed that GBV in South African and other universities has sparked frequent protests centred on issues of sexual, physical, and emotional violence. Moreover, it was also highlighted that many students refrained from reporting GBV incidents due to concerns about stigma and the impact on their careers, with victims often facing anxiety, depression, and physical symptoms, which further impeded their participation in university life and restricted their educational opportunities. This study concluded that GBV restricted students' access to quality education and, if unaddressed, might lead to declining university enrolment. Thus, it recommended collaboration between universities, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and families to tackle GBV and called for a review of policies to improve enforcement and provide better protection for students.  

This qualitative study examines the psychosocial barriers that prevent female students from reporting sexual victimisation at selected rural and urban universities in South Africa, as well as other Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This study aimed to examine the psychological effects and social repercussions experienced by students, including instances of sexual abuse. This study is grounded in the Lifestyle Exposure Theory by Hindelang et al. (1978) and Fattah’s (1991) Differential Risk Model. It employed semi-structured In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) with twenty-nine (29) First Responders, specifically selected from the Gender Desk, Student Governance, Health and Wellness, residence administrators, academic staff, safety and security, legal, psychology, and social work domains. These participants were chosen to provide insights on the subject matter. The findings indicate that fear of retaliation, stigmatisation, institutional distrust, and emotional trauma together perpetuate a culture of silence. The research emphasises that these barriers intensify psychological distress and social isolation in victims, thereby contributing to underreporting. The findings underscore the insufficient response to the necessity for a multi-institutional strategy to: 1) Implement trauma-informed awareness campaigns aimed at destigmatization, 2) Enhance structural support systems to bolster accountability, and 3) Ensure comprehensive staff training to eradicate biases in case management. By prioritising the welfare of survivors and confronting the societal acceptability of sexual violence, universities can mitigate the psychosocial effects of victimisation. This paper proposes the development of policies that rectify the gaps between institutional commitments and the real experiences of students, with the goal of establishing active prevention and survivor-centered justice as standard practices on campus.

Rape seems to be a traumatic event, with multiple effects on potential victims’ psychological, social, as well as physical levels, which can occur simultaneously at times. The noted effects of rape incidences may differ from one victim to the other. The qualitative research approach was deployed in this study to clearly understand human behavior from an insider’s point of view. This was aided by the Q-methodology research design to explore perspectives of the selected participants who represent different stances on this subject. This also allowed explorations of community members’ perceptions on the effects of rape in selected Mankweng areas, as an objective guiding this study. The data was collected in Mankweng through the applications of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). About Thirty (30) participants were purposively sampled. The inductive Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) was used for analysis. This study presented that some victims of rape do experience symptoms such as; feelings of worthlessness, social isolation, resorting to substance abuse and persistent sadness and crying. To serve as an intervention to victims. For recommendations, training and refresher courses should be provided in the field of Criminology and Criminal Justice and professionals from the medical field on how to deal with rape victims. Relevant stakeholders should urgently readdress understanding the associated effects of rape on society and potential victims and programmes should be hosted within these communities to alert residents about the effects of rape in the Mankweng policing area.