As of February 21, 2025, Africa recorded slightly over ***** new violent attacks against civilians. Over ****** cases of this nature were recorded on the continent in full year 2024, which was a peak considering the period reviewed. In contrast, the lowest number of violent events against civil citizens occurred in 2006, at ***.

Abstract

The WORLD Policy Analysis Center (WORLD) is committed to improving the quantity and quality of globally comparative data available to policymakers, citizens, civil society, and researchers on laws and policies that work to support human rights, including economic opportunity, social and civic engagement, human health, development, well-being, and equity. This dataset is part of a series that assesses progress in laws across African countries that lay the foundation for equal opportunities in childhood and gender equality. Domestic violence has devastating consequences for women's health, economic security, and autonomy, as well as consequences for children's health and nutrition. WORLD's Protection from Domestic Violence, Africa 1990-2021 dataset was created to assess progress on laws prohibiting domestic violence through a systematic review of legislation governing domestic violence from 1990 to 2021 in 51 African countries. A public use legislative repository is available with the legislation used to code each African country. In some cases the laws made available are only the recent laws and not all the laws that relate to the coded data in the longitudinal African datasets.

Analysis unit

Laws

Kind of data

Other

Mode of data collection

Other

Except for the Government of Eritrea, which was responsible for a combined 1,555 deaths in the conflicts in Yemen and Ethiopia, the Government of Ethiopia was responsible for the highest number of deaths due to one-sided violence in Africa in 2021. In its own country as well as in neighboring Sudan, the Ethiopian Government was responsible for more than 1,100 deaths. Moreover, a coalition of the Government of Ethiopia and the Government of Eritrea stood behind nearly 900 killings in Ethiopia that year. The Union of Revolutionaries for the Defense of the Congolese People (URDPC) was the non-state actor behind the highest number of deadly victims of one-sided violence in Africa in 2021.

Nigeria registered the highest economic cost of violence in Africa as of 2020, reaching around *** billion U.S. dollars adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP). This corresponded to a share of ** percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product. South Africa followed, with direct and indirect costs of violence exceeding **** billion PPP U.S. dollars (** percent of GDP). In South Sudan, where the violence cost reached around *** billion PPP U.S. dollars, the amount equaled some ** percent of the country's GDP.

These are the necessary do-files and guidance ("READ ME") to replicate all tables in the article "Adolescent Girls’ Safety In and Out of School: Evidence on Physical and Sexual Violence from across Sub-Saharan Africa," by David K. Evans, Susannah Hares, Peter Holland, and Amina Mendez Acosta, published in the Journal of Development Studies in 2023. The article principally relies on publicly available data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and the Violence against Children Surveys (VACS), which we do not have permission to post. But the included documentation indicates which datasets need to be downloaded to then apply the included do-files to in order to generate the results report in the article.

In present times, gender-based violence (GBV) is a global scourge. It is highly prevalent in South Africa, where the rates of incidents are exorbitant, particularly those of sexual violence against women. The goal of this paper is to explore the implications of factors such as societal norms affected by the country’s unique historical circumstances that promote rising rates of gender-based violence, significant underreporting of these instances, sexual violence and the consequences for the survivors. The paper uses secondary data to study the intersectionality of gender, population group (race), socio-economic status, and geographical location. We further analyze the sociodemographic of GBV (particularly rape) victims and perpetrators to put the focus on better and more gender-responsive prevention strategies. The paper highlights the importance of paying attention to intimate partner violence (IPV) as this constitutes a highly significant percentage of the total cases of rape and femicide. The study shows that non-white women constitute the most vulnerable group to GBV. We conclude that proper mechanisms must be put in place which require the cooperation of the police, judicial, medical, social and other support services to properly tackle this violence which must account for every population group, especially the historically marginalized ones.Citation: Alvarez Merino, E., & Afa, I. J. (2025). Exploring the Complexities of Gender-Based Violence in South Africa: A Comprehensive Analysis. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 15, 26-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/ijhss.v15p3URL: https://ijhssnet.com/journal/index/5011

Twenty individual interviews and a focus group discussion from the research component of the Masters (Sociology) dissertation entitled 'Safety and Belonging: Constructing a sense of belonging amongst young, middle-class, South African feminine bodies within and 'unsafe' place'. The participants of this study were between the ages of 21 and 30, born and raised in South Africa, all but one (Julia) held an undergraduate degree, and were mix of races (twelve white, seven black, and one Indian). Using a semi-structured format, the participants were interviewed for approximately 60 minutes about how they had constructed their sense of belonging in/to South Africa despite the gender-based violence that is seemingly characteristic of this context. Thus, the participants’ lived experiences of (not) belonging, experiences of violence, and being a woman in South Africa were the focus of this data collection process. Therefore, these interviews primarily cover topics like: a persistent sense of unsafety, safe keeping strategies (safety precautions), personal experiences of (gendered) violence and their ramifications, emotive constructions of belonging, and an apparent constant gendered vulnerability. All of which were contextualised to South Africa. When viewed together these twenty interviews produce a possible feminine South African narrative of belonging which accounts for the violent (gendered) realties of this context. However, one interview (Mary) could not be transcribed as the audio file was corrupted. The focus group was conducted after all the individual interviews had been done, transcribed, and analysed thematically. This discussion took place over an online chat platform (Zoom), and consisted of three white participants that were recruited from the existing participant pool. The small participant sample was due to scheduling conflicts and time constraints. The discussion points were developed from common themes that were identified through the thematic analysis of the induvial interviews. This was done to test the validity of these themes and to investigate them further. As all the participants were white, this discussion focused on lived experiences of belonging in/to South Africa from the perspectives of white South African women. And thus, primarily covered topics like: whiteness, racial conflicts, a sense of not-belonging, and a sense of feminine unsafety. Critically, while it was the intention to view this data as a possible ‘master’ narrative of the feminine South African sense of belonging, the sample was too small and only consisted of white women. Thus, this discussion ought to be viewed as a group narrative of white belonging in/to South Africa. Note that all the transcripts were transcribed verbatim and research pseudonyms were used so to be in accordance with the POPIA Act.

How does armed conflict affect attitudes that tolerate violence against women? This paper examines the effects of armed violence on preferences for punishing crimes against women using original quantitative data from 80 focus groups across 20 villages in Democratic Republic of Congo and a matched pair design. Challenging unidirectional logics within theories of violence against women; the data reveal that local exposure to armed violence increases how severely men prefer to punish rape while decreasing how severely men and women prefer to punish domestic violence. Building inductively, I develop a theory of protective masculine norms to account for armed conflict's gendered and crime-specific effects. When armed violence heightens demand for local male protection, crimes perceived to pose a community threat are affected differently from 'private' crimes.

Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism: Percentile Rank, Upper Bound of 90% Confidence Interval in South Africa was reported at 35.55 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism: Percentile Rank, Upper Bound of 90% Confidence Interval - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

Maps shows violence against civilians in Africa between 2001 and 2010. ACLED database, available at ACLED Data.

South Africa: Political violence risk, (1=low, 7=high): The latest value from is index points, unavailable from index points in . In comparison, the world average is 0 index points, based on data from countries. Historically, the average for South Africa from to is 3 index points. The minimum value, 2 index points, was reached in 2014 while the maximum of 3 index points was recorded in 2016.

A qualitative research methodology was utilised to seek an in-depth understanding of students’ lived experiences of gender-based violence (GBV) at a South African University. This study investigated the experiences of students who were victims of GBV at a South African university. Through carefully and thoroughly planned interviews, this was achieved by exploring the experiences of three students who have previously experienced gender-based violence. The conclusions drawn in the study emanate from the interviews conducted with the participants as well as the literature that informed the study. The three students employed in the study were all women. The first step of the data analysis included familiarizing myself with the raw data obtained from the interviews in the form of transcriptions. Additionally, codes were generated using the participants' exact statements from the transcripts. Secondly, data was organised and grouped together with the aim of searching for themes. Lastly, themes were reviewed, finalised, and named.

The findings in the dataset suggested that the participants tend to be weary of people on campus rather than the campuses themselves, or the surrounding areas such as the residences or public areas. Their main concern revolved around the perception that men are the catalysts of instilling the fear of potential harm within various contexts, and the university spaces being one of them. Undoubtedly, the female students’ activities and daily experiences appear to be cultivated and constrained by the fear of sexual violence, harassment, and emotional harm. In summary, the findings in the dataset highlighted that the students were keenly aware of the GBV prevalence on university campuses and surrounding spaces, which birthed an innate fear of potential harm within these spaces. Furthermore, the students each shared the experience of feeling that the university could do more to disperse widespread awareness and information about student safety protocols and legislation with regards to GBV incidences. Therefore, the findings of this study do provide evidence that GBV in the university environments may need to be further examined and that more should be done to ensure that students are safeguarded by university policies and laws.

This review investigates gender-informed intervention studies conducted in sub-Saharan Africa that measure an outcome related to HIV. The review included 20,340 abstracts published between January 1990 and July 2015, 84 of which met our inclusion criteria for full review, resulting in 17 articles that are the current analysis. The findings demonstrate a wide variation in the types of interventions, from low-intensity educational content to multicomponent interventions. The review groups study outcomes into biological, HIV risk interventions, behavioral, violence, and risk reduction. Most interventions showed positive effects, and although research methodologies varied considerably, longer interventions appeared to be more effective. Cultural and behavioral practices require a multidimensional interventional approach to prevent the spread of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Studies of sexual violence, oppressive cultural norms, and cultural acceptance of men having multiple partners may contribute to disproportionate HIV rates in the region.

This dataset integrates and standardizes multiple cross-sectional household food security surveys conducted twice a year to support the Cadre Harmonisé process in West Africa. The surveys are carried out in two waves each year: First wave: Conducted before the start of the lean season (around February-March) Second wave: Conducted at the end of the lean season or beginning of the harvesting period (around September-October) These large-scale surveys are generally representative at the second-tier administrative level and capture data on the access and stability dimensions of food security. Key indicators include: Food Consumption Score (FCS) Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) Coping behaviors Additionally, this dataset is further augmented with information on several covariate shocks that took place in each second-level administrative area in the period between two subsequent surveys. The different covariate shocks added to the dataset relate to five shock domains: Conflict and political violence Food price anomalies Long-term climate hazards Rainy season performance Extreme weather events This comprehensive dataset provides valuable insights into food security and household coping strategies in Mali, enriched with data on various shocks impacting food security.

Arts-based methods are underutilized in violence research and may offer improved means of understanding these phenomena; but little is known about their value, especially in low-resource settings. A pilot study using a cross sectional sample was conducted in rural South Africa to determine the feasibility and acceptability of using arts-based methods in research with adults and children, in preparation for a longitudinal multigenerational cohort study on mechanisms that underly the intergenerational transmission of violence. Four arts-based methods were piloted with young adults aged 22-30 years (n=29), children aged 4-7 years (n=21) and former caregivers of the young adults aged 40-69 years (n=11). A sample of qualitative interviews were audio recorded and transcribed (child n=15, adults n=19). Three focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to understand implementation and lessons learnt with the six interviewers on the study team, none of whom had used these methods in research before. Interviews and FGDs were audio recorded, transcribed and reviewed by the investigative team. Using a rapid analytical approach, our pilot study demonstrated that using arts and play-based methods in multigenerational violence research is feasible and acceptable to participants and interviewers. These methods worked well for nearly all participants regardless of age or ability and offered a comfortable and 'fun' way to engage in weighty conversations. They presented benefits in their capability to facilitate disclosure, expanding understanding, particularly around violence that is often a stigmatizing and sensitive experience. Interviewers required increased capacity and sensitivity in using the methods carefully, to maximize their full potential, and ongoing mentorship was indicated. Our study adds to the burgeoning evidence base of the effectiveness of the use of arts-based methods in health research. The dataset relates to the upcoming publication N. Woollett, N. Christofides, H. Franchino-Olsen, M. Silima, A. Fouche, F. Meinck (in submission). 'Through the drawings...they are able to tell you straight': using arts-based methods in violence research in South Africa.

Multilevel robust Poisson regression analysis of factors associated with intimate partner violence among women in sub-Sahara Africa.

Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism: Percentile Rank in South Africa was reported at 20.85 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism: Percentile Rank - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

In most countries, reliable national statistics on femicide, intimate partner femicide (IPF), and non-intimate partner femicide (NIPF) are not available. Surveys are required to collect robust data on this most extreme consequence of intimate partner violence (IPV). We analysed 3 national surveys to compare femicide, IPF, and NIPF from 1999 to 2017 using age-standardised rates (ASRs) and incidence rate ratios (IRRs).We conducted 3 national mortuary-based retrospective surveys using weighted cluster designs from proportionate random samples of medicolegal laboratories. We included females 14 years and older who were identified as having been murdered in South Africa in 1999 (n = 3,793), 2009 (n = 2,363), and 2017 (n = 2,407). Further information on the murdered cases were collected from crime dockets during interviews with police investigating officers. Our findings show that South Africa had an IPF rate of 4.9/100,000 female population in 2017. All forms of femicide among women 14 years and older declined from 1999 to 2017. For IPF, the ASR was 9.5/100,000 in 1999. Between 1999 and 2009, the decline for NIPF was greater than for IPF (IRR for NIPF 0.47 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.42 to 0.53) compared to IRR for IPF 0.69 (95% CI 0.63 to 0.77). Rates declined from 2009 to 2017 and did not differ by femicide type. The decline in IPF was initially larger for women aged 14 to 29, and after 2009, it was more pronounced for those aged 30 to 44 years. Study limitations include missing data from the police and having to use imputation to account for missing perpetrator data.In this study, we observed a reduction in femicide overall and different patterns of change in IPF compared to NIPF. The explanation for the reductions may be due to social and policy interventions aimed at reducing IPV overall, coupled with increased social and economic stability. Our study shows that gender-based violence is preventable even in high-prevalence settings, and evidence-based prevention efforts must be intensified globally. We also show the value of dedicated surveys in the absence of functional information systems

This dataset is about countries in Africa. It has 54 rows. It features 3 columns: country full name, and internally displaced persons, by conflict and violence.

1980 to 2010 Elections.sav 1980 to 2010 Elections.pdf Electoral Management models.pdf