Explore the evidence.
Understand the reach.

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.

The study aims to gain a better understanding of sexual harassment acts experienced by female passengers on the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) operated by UDART in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and to recommend factors for reducing the practice. The study specifically investigated factors that contribute to harassment, passenger coping strategies with harassment, and strategies for alleviating harassment. In-depth interviews with approximately 30 women who regularly use public transport and two UDART/BRT officials were conducted using a qualitative design. The data was collected using a phenomenology strategy, and the data was analysed using a thematic analysis strategy. The Swahili transcriptions were translated into English and analysed using MAXQDA 10 [VERBI Software, Marburg, Germany]. The nature of sexual harassment experienced by female customers includes; unwanted sexual contact, unintended touching, abusive words, and unwanted gestures. Moral decay, mental disorders in some men, a lack of strong legal enforcement, poor transportation arrangements, and a patriarchy system are all factors that expose women to sexual harassment on public transportation. Women coped with harassment by owning and operating personal vehicles, hiring motorbikes (bodaboda), avoiding service during peak hours, and deciding to accept the consequences when there was no other option. Expansion and establishment of new BRT road routes, procurement and registration of more buses, and the establishment of student buses are all strategies for combating sexual harassment in public transportation.

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.

Gender-based violence remains a critical concern affecting female students in higher education institutions, with significant implications for their academic success, psychological well-being, and overall safety. This protocol outlines a qualitative study designed to explore the experiences of undergraduate female students regarding GBV within HEIs and to develop contextually relevant preventive strategies. The study adopts an interpretive qualitative approach using a phenomenological and exploratory research design to gain an in-depth understanding of participants lived experiences. Purposive sampling will be employed to recruit approximately 15 undergraduate female students aged 18–24 years and four student counsellors as key informants. Data will be collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews and analysed using thematic content analysis guided by Tesch’s framework. The study is informed by Afrocentricity, African feminism, and empowerment theory, which provide a culturally grounded and intersectional lens for understanding GBV and informing prevention strategies. Trustworthiness will be ensured through credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Ethical principles, including informed consent, voluntary participation, confidentiality, and anonymity, will be strictly upheld. The findings are expected to generate rich insights into the nature and impact of GBV on female students and to inform the development of evidence-based prevention strategies, including awareness programmes, improved reporting systems, and strengthened institutional support mechanisms.

In Southern African higher education, gender-based violence (GBV) is still a major public health and human rights issue that has a significant impact on students' psychological health, academic achievement, and life paths. Integrative frameworks that direct the successful implementation of prevention and support programs in line with social and emotional learning (SEL) are lacking, despite rising prevalence. To close this gap, this study offers a conceptual framework for examining variables that affect how the Resilience, Rights, and Respectful Relationships program is implemented in academic settings. It promotes a comprehensive strategy that incorporates pastoral care and psychological support by drawing on interdisciplinary viewpoints. Pastoral care uses techniques like story counseling and logotherapy to support meaning-making, spiritual resilience, and identity rebuilding while psychological interventions concentrate on emotional healing. The study highlights the significance of pastoral care in fostering justice-oriented, life-affirming interpretations by critically examining cultural and religious narratives that may sustain gender inequity through the application of theological viewpoints. In the end, it advocates for interdisciplinary, survivor-centered, contextually grounded institutional responses that go beyond policy commitments to address the existential as well as structural aspects of GBV.

Gender-based violence remains a critical concern affecting female students in higher education institutions, with significant implications for their academic success, psychological well-being, and overall safety. This protocol outlines a qualitative study designed to explore the experiences of undergraduate female students regarding GBV within HEIs and to develop contextually relevant preventive strategies. The study adopts an interpretive qualitative approach using a phenomenological and exploratory research design to gain an in-depth understanding of participants lived experiences. Purposive sampling will be employed to recruit approximately 15 undergraduate female students aged 18–24 years and four student counsellors as key informants. Data will be collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews and analysed using thematic content analysis guided by Tesch’s framework. The study is informed by Afrocentricity, African feminism, and empowerment theory, which provide a culturally grounded and intersectional lens for understanding GBV and informing prevention strategies. Trustworthiness will be ensured through credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Ethical principles, including informed consent, voluntary participation, confidentiality, and anonymity, will be strictly upheld. The findings are expected to generate rich insights into the nature and impact of GBV on female students and to inform the development of evidence-based prevention strategies, including awareness programmes, improved reporting systems, and strengthened institutional support mechanisms.

In Southern African higher education, gender-based violence (GBV) is still a major public health and human rights issue that has a significant impact on students' psychological health, academic achievement, and life paths. Integrative frameworks that direct the successful implementation of prevention and support programs in line with social and emotional learning (SEL) are lacking, despite rising prevalence. To close this gap, this study offers a conceptual framework for examining variables that affect how the Resilience, Rights, and Respectful Relationships program is implemented in academic settings. It promotes a comprehensive strategy that incorporates pastoral care and psychological support by drawing on interdisciplinary viewpoints. Pastoral care uses techniques like story counseling and logotherapy to support meaning-making, spiritual resilience, and identity rebuilding while psychological interventions concentrate on emotional healing. The study highlights the significance of pastoral care in fostering justice-oriented, life-affirming interpretations by critically examining cultural and religious narratives that may sustain gender inequity through the application of theological viewpoints. In the end, it advocates for interdisciplinary, survivor-centered, contextually grounded institutional responses that go beyond policy commitments to address the existential as well as structural aspects of GBV.

E-hailing services have become an integral part of student mobility in South African cities, offering convenience and flexibility within transport systems that are often fragmented and unreliable. However, for female university students, the use of these services extends beyond issues of accessibility and cost, intersecting with persistent concerns about personal safety, vulnerability and exposure to gender-based violence. This study examines female students' perceptions of safety and risk when using e-hailing services within an urban university context in the Eastern Cape province. Adopting a qualitative research design grounded in an interpretivist paradigm, the study draws on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with female students who regularly use e-hailing platforms for academic, social, and personal travel. The findings reveal that while e-hailing services are often perceived as safer alternatives to walking or traditional public transport, they simultaneously generate new forms of anxiety linked to driver behaviour, route deviations, inadequate platform accountability and broader societal violence against women. Participants described engaging in continuous risk assessment and adopting self-protective strategies such as monitoring routes, restricting travel times, and relying on peer-based safety networks to navigate perceived threats. The study further highlights the limitations of existing platform safety features, which are frequently experienced as symbolic rather than substantively protective. These findings underscore the need for a more coordinated response involving e-hailing companies, universities, and policymakers to strengthen passenger safety beyond individual vigilance. The study contributes to SDG 5 (Gender Equality) by highlighting the structural and social conditions that limit women’s ability to move freely and safely in public and semi-private spaces. It further aligns with SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), specifically the goal of ensuring safe, inclusive, and accessible transport systems for all, with particular attention to the needs of women and vulnerable populations. Furthermore, by centring female students lived experiences, this study contributes to ongoing debates on gendered mobility, digital transport governance, and safety within higher education environments in the Global South.

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.