South Africa has spent years building systems to respond to gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).
But there is a difficult question we can no longer avoid:
What happens if we keep getting better at responding to violence, but do not do enough to stop it from happening in the first place?
The scale of the crisis makes that question urgent.
Research from the Human Sciences Research Council shows that one in three South African women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence during her lifetime. One in four has experienced emotional abuse, while more than half have experienced controlling behaviour.
These numbers are not simply statistics. They represent lives, families, workplaces and communities shaped by violence.
South Africa has made important progress in strengthening its response. Civil society organisations continue to provide critical support. Government has developed policy interventions, including the National Strategic Plan on GBVF. And more than two decades ago, the country introduced the first Thuthuzela Care Centres, creating a model that brought healthcare, police, social development and justice services together to support survivors.
The response has evolved.
But prevention needs to evolve with it.
From responding to violence to preventing it
The Thuthuzela Care Centre model demonstrates what can happen when different sectors work together.
The centres were developed after research highlighted the challenges sexual assault survivors faced when navigating healthcare and criminal justice systems. The result was a one-stop model designed to make support more coordinated and accessible.
Government, civil society and external funders all played roles in developing this approach.
It is a powerful example of what collaboration can achieve.
Yet the continued prevalence of GBVF highlights a fundamental challenge: reactive systems alone cannot dismantle the social conditions and beliefs that allow violence to persist.
Prevention requires a different lens.
It means examining the attitudes, relationships, economic conditions and social norms that can contribute to violence — and investing in changing them.
That is where business has a potentially significant role to play.
Why business cannot sit on the sidelines
Businesses employ millions of people.
That gives the private sector an influence that extends far beyond the workplace.
Companies shape employee experiences. They influence families. They invest in communities. Through corporate social investment, they already fund programmes across education, healthcare and youth development.
The opportunity is to use that reach more deliberately.
GBVF prevention can become part of existing employee wellbeing and social investment strategies.
That could include access to GBVF hotlines, mental health support for women, initiatives that engage men around healthy relationships and programmes that encourage positive, involved fatherhood.
These interventions matter because violence does not exist in isolation.
If South Africa wants to break intergenerational cycles of violence, children need homes and communities where healthy relationships are modelled and supported.
Economic empowerment also has a role.
Creating meaningful economic opportunities for women can form part of a broader prevention strategy by strengthening women’s participation in the economy and addressing some of the socio-economic conditions surrounding vulnerability.
CSI can become part of the prevention solution
Corporate social investment does not necessarily require businesses to start from scratch.
In many cases, the opportunity may already exist within programmes companies are funding.
A youth development initiative could incorporate a stronger focus on gender-based violence prevention.
An education programme could examine the social norms that contribute to violence.
A healthcare investment could include prevention and awareness components.
The shift is about asking a different question:
How can existing investments contribute to preventing GBVF?
There are also practical interventions that can immediately make communities safer.
Better lighting in high-risk areas can improve safety.
Transport support can help women travelling early in the morning or late at night.
Community patrols and other local safety programmes can also contribute to creating environments where people feel safer.
These interventions may appear simple.
But prevention is often built through practical changes that alter people’s everyday experiences.
What does effective prevention actually look like?
There is no single solution to GBVF.
It is a complex social problem requiring sustained intervention.
According to Virginia Francis, GBV Lead at Tshikululu Social Investments, more corporate clients are now asking a crucial question: where can our investments create the greatest impact?
One example being explored is Stepping Stones, an evidence-based, participatory training programme designed to prevent HIV and reduce GBVF.
Its approach combines social behaviour change with economic empowerment.
The programme addresses gender, sexuality, violence, communication and relationship skills. It focuses on the social norms and power dynamics that can influence behaviour within families and communities.
Couples participate in learning around healthy communication and relationships, while participating women also receive practical skills to identify and pursue income-generating opportunities.
The principle is important.
Prevention is not only about telling people what not to do.
It is about helping build the relationships, knowledge, opportunities and social environments that make healthier choices possible.
The real return on investment is measured in change
There is no quick fix for GBVF.
Changing behaviour takes time.
Changing social norms takes even longer.
That means corporate investment in prevention cannot be judged only by immediate numbers.
How much money was spent?
How many people attended?
How many workshops were held?
These measurements matter, but they do not tell the whole story.
The deeper question is whether attitudes, behaviours and social norms are changing.
A Theory of Change approach can help funders and implementation partners connect activities with longer-term outcomes. It also creates opportunities to learn, adapt programmes and make better-informed decisions about scaling interventions.
That requires patience.
But the potential reward is significant.
Prevention can reach beyond an individual programme. It can influence families, relationships and communities — and potentially generations.
South Africa needs everyone at the table
Supporting survivors will always remain essential.
People experiencing violence need protection, healthcare, justice and support today.
But prevention deserves the same level of urgency.
South Africa cannot respond its way out of GBVF.
The country needs a collective investment in changing the conditions that allow violence to continue.
Government has a role.
Civil society has a role.
Communities have a role.
And business has a role.
For companies, the opportunity is not simply to write another cheque.
It is to ask whether their existing influence, resources and programmes can help create safer workplaces, healthier relationships, stronger communities and greater economic opportunity for women.
The road to a violence-free South Africa will not be short.
It will demand sustained investment, collaboration and a willingness to measure success by long-term change rather than immediate results.
But the direction is clear.
We must continue supporting survivors — while investing just as deliberately in preventing the next act of violence.
Because if South Africa is serious about ending GBVF, prevention cannot remain an afterthought.
It has to become everyone’s investment.
