Understanding the role of collective action in addressing structural gender violence, South Africa

The case study discussed in this Evidence Report explores the value and limitations of collective action in challenging the community, political, social and economic institutions that reinforce harmful masculinities and gender norms related to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). This study used a participatory research methodology to generate policy-relevant research that was empirically grounded and action-oriented. Participants were diverse actors engaged in addressing SGBV in urban Cape Town and a rural municipality in the Western Cape. The methods themselves were established to ensure that the research process was responsive to emerging policy dynamics linked to the development of a National GBV Strategic Plan and that it was ethically accountable to the participants. The research was conducted July-November 2014 and used digital storytelling and collective analysis with 11 participants identified as community activists, key informant interviews with 26 stakeholders dealing with SGBV; and policy engagement through a stakeholder dialogue event with 35 participants. In South Africa, it is impossible to de-link SGBV from the broader dynamics of socioeconomic inequality that still characterises the lives of the people involved in this study. The study shows how the persistence of this inequality was inscribed into the very spaces – townships, homes, bodies – in which most of the participants lived. Racial inequalities embedded in South Africa’s history, emerged in the present, for example in the form of ongoing economic struggle. A particular set of normative gender roles were articulated, in relation to these structural dynamics, for example migration. The study findings make visible the role of formal institutions and leaders from government and religious institutions, in failing to address or even maintaining structural inequalities that underpin SGBV. The case study shows that gender transformative collective action can provide an opportunity for different actors and organisations to work together across social issues towards change, bringing alliances and partnerships between people and across organisations. These initiatives emphasise the full participation of men, whose role is seen as essential in the transformative process. Further, community-led initiatives that work at the personal and political level providing support structures and spaces to engage diverse stakeholders have the potential to transform attitudes, behaviours and mechanisms that support male dominance and power. Collaborations between organisations and institutions can enable coordination across interventions engaging different ecological levels and addressing the multiple intersecting influences to reduce and prevent violence.

Pragmatic limitations to collective action, and to social transformation, include a lack of funding for those organisations working to provide resources to people affected by SGBV. The study offers policy and practice recommendations that focus on supporting citizens’ initiatives and social activism, building accountability through partnerships across social movements working for gender equality and engaging with political decision-makers and champions to drive institutional change.¹