Gender-based and domestic violence in South Africa: Law, responsibility, and the urgent need for action
08 February 2026, Kiana Venter
Gender-based and domestic violence (“GBV” and “DV”) remains one of South Africa’s most serious and persistent human rights challenges. Despite... a comprehensive legislative framework and repeated acknowledgment by the courts that domestic violence is systemic and unacceptable, violence continues at devastating levels — often in circumstances where warning signs were present and intervention was possible.