Baseline study among adolescent learners in South Africa to inform a sexual and gender-based violence prevention program

Brief Summary

Background

Sexual and gender-based violence is widespread in South Africa and disproportionately affects young women and girls, including within school settings where it often goes unaddressed.

What Grassroot Soccer did

Grassroot Soccer and The Soul City Institute conducted a baseline study across 24 schools in Khayelitsha, South Africa, surveying nearly 2,900 students and hosting focus groups and interviews with parents, educators, and community members. The goal was to understand the scope of violence and inform a new program called Sexual Violence in Schools in South Africa.

What the study found

High proportions of students, including in primary school, reported experiencing or perpetrating violence, with significant under-reporting and normalization of sexual harassment in schools.

Why this matters

Findings underscore the pressing need for school-based violence prevention and provide critical evidence to guide the development of targeted interventions to create safer learning environments for young people.

DETAILED SUMMARY

Importance

Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is highly prevalent and often targets young women and girls in South Africa, including in schools.

Objective

To assess the prevalence and determinants of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) among students from primary and secondary schools in Khayelitsha, South Africa, to inform the development of the SeViSSA program.

Study details

Study design: Mixed-methods study (with control group)
Data collection tools: Baseline surveys; focus group discussions with learners (n=50, 20 in primary school and 30 in secondary school), parents (n=3) and community members (n=3); 24 key informant interviews
Participants: Mixed gender adolescent learners, parents, community members, educators, principals, selected service providers, and members of school governing boards
Implementation setting: 20 intervention schools (10 primary, 10 secondary); 4 control schools (2 primary, 2 secondary)
Study period: January – October 2015

Intervention

Sexual Violence in Schools in South Africa (SeViSSA): An intervention developed by Grassroot Soccer and The Soul City Institute to build safer schools and communities with increased capacity to address and prevent violence against women and girls.

Results

Surveys were completed by 2,881 students (1,684 female, 1,197 male)
High levels of exposure to violence: 70% reported violence at home, and 60% felt at risk in their communities
Gender-based violence was common among secondary school adolescents: 32% experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) and 33% non-partner SGBV; 49% reported perpetration, often linked to substance use
Primary school students also reported violence (48% IPV, 65% non-partner SGBV)
High levels of under-reporting, with only 50% of IPV cases reported
Qualitative findings show that sexual harassment is normalized in schools, with heightened vulnerability among gender non-conforming students
- “You find that we are being abused, but our teachers don’t see it” (Female student)

Conclusions and implications

Concerning levels of SGBV were observed among primary and high school students alike, with limited educator intervention.
Findings will inform a joint intervention to reduce SGBV in schools, and follow-up evaluations will be performed to assess its effectiveness.

Citation

Year: 2014

Authors: Sanders BF, Barkley CK, Advani N, Goldstein S, Timol F, Lynch I, Morison T, Gqomfa N, Swartz S, Macleod C

Sanders BF, Barkley CK, Advani N, Goldstein S, Timol F, Lynch I, Morison T, Gqomfa N, Swartz S, Macleod C. Where do the children play? Alarming levels of sexual and gender-based violence in township schools in Cape Town, South Africa: baseline data for a joint Grassroot Soccer & Soul City intervention [poster]. Presented at: International AIDS Conference; 2016 Jul; Durban, South Africa.