Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
A new beginning: a case for establishing a sexual and gender-based violence truth commission in South Africa
Globally, civil society and the media have drawn increasing attention to alarmingly high sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and femicide rates. This is particularly true for South Africa, having hosted two presidential summits on the topic, having produced a national action plan (NAP) detailing...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
Department of Public Law
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613224374894592 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Wild, Stephanie |
| author2 | De Vos, Pierre |
| author_browse | De Vos, Pierre Wild, Stephanie |
| author_facet | De Vos, Pierre Wild, Stephanie |
| author_sort | Wild, Stephanie |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Globally, civil society and the media have drawn increasing attention to alarmingly high sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and femicide rates. This is particularly true for South Africa, having hosted two presidential summits on the topic, having produced a national action plan (NAP) detailing intervention and prevention strategies, as well as having nationwide protests against SGBV and femicide between 2018 and 2019. This thesis hopes to contribute to existing literature regarding potential intervention and response strategies to minimise SGBV and femicide, particularly in South Africa. More specifically, this thesis seeks to determine whether the novel approach of a SGBV truth commission (TC) would be an effective method to respond to and minimise the widespread femicide and SGBV violations in South Africa. This research project is a desktop thesis, drawing on existing literature in the transitional justice (TJ), gendered transitional justice (GTJ), and radical feminism fields to determine if a TJ strategy would be appropriate in the context of an established democracy and in the context of SGBV and femicide, whether a TC in particular would be the most effective TJ strategy over a reparations programme, institutional reforms, and a SGBV tribunal, as well as whether a TC would be effective, justified, and/or necessary after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Ultimately, this thesis suggests that a SGBV TC, if adopting an intersectional-gendered framework and if working with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to pursue criminal prosecutions, would be an effective intervention strategy to both pursue justice for SGBV and femicide victims, as well as to address the root cause, patriarchy. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that a SGBV TC could pursue restorative justice goals for victims and alleviate pressure on investigative authorities through evidence collection; promote more inclusive shared narratives on SGBV to counterbalance prolific ‘rape myths'; encourage positive changes in patriarchal attitudes/beliefs within broader society and the criminal justice system; guide the implementation of well-crafted reparations and institutional reforms. This implies that TJ strategies could be implemented not only in post-war/authoritarianism contexts, but also in countries battling pervasive SGBV and femicide levels by beginning to dismantle patriarchy. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41937 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:32:44.899Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Department of Public Law |
| publisherStr | Department of Public Law |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41937 A new beginning: a case for establishing a sexual and gender-based violence truth commission in South Africa Wild, Stephanie De Vos, Pierre TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE TRUTH COMMISSION GENDER SGBV FEMICIDE INTERSECTIONALITY PATRIARCHY Globally, civil society and the media have drawn increasing attention to alarmingly high sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and femicide rates. This is particularly true for South Africa, having hosted two presidential summits on the topic, having produced a national action plan (NAP) detailing intervention and prevention strategies, as well as having nationwide protests against SGBV and femicide between 2018 and 2019. This thesis hopes to contribute to existing literature regarding potential intervention and response strategies to minimise SGBV and femicide, particularly in South Africa. More specifically, this thesis seeks to determine whether the novel approach of a SGBV truth commission (TC) would be an effective method to respond to and minimise the widespread femicide and SGBV violations in South Africa. This research project is a desktop thesis, drawing on existing literature in the transitional justice (TJ), gendered transitional justice (GTJ), and radical feminism fields to determine if a TJ strategy would be appropriate in the context of an established democracy and in the context of SGBV and femicide, whether a TC in particular would be the most effective TJ strategy over a reparations programme, institutional reforms, and a SGBV tribunal, as well as whether a TC would be effective, justified, and/or necessary after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Ultimately, this thesis suggests that a SGBV TC, if adopting an intersectional-gendered framework and if working with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to pursue criminal prosecutions, would be an effective intervention strategy to both pursue justice for SGBV and femicide victims, as well as to address the root cause, patriarchy. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that a SGBV TC could pursue restorative justice goals for victims and alleviate pressure on investigative authorities through evidence collection; promote more inclusive shared narratives on SGBV to counterbalance prolific ‘rape myths'; encourage positive changes in patriarchal attitudes/beliefs within broader society and the criminal justice system; guide the implementation of well-crafted reparations and institutional reforms. This implies that TJ strategies could be implemented not only in post-war/authoritarianism contexts, but also in countries battling pervasive SGBV and femicide levels by beginning to dismantle patriarchy. 2025-10-01T11:56:10Z 2025-10-01T11:56:10Z 2025 2025-10-01T10:53:51Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters Masters http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41937 en eng application/pdf Department of Public Law Faculty of Law University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE TRUTH COMMISSION GENDER SGBV FEMICIDE INTERSECTIONALITY PATRIARCHY Wild, Stephanie A new beginning: a case for establishing a sexual and gender-based violence truth commission in South Africa |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | A new beginning: a case for establishing a sexual and gender-based violence truth commission in South Africa |
| title_full | A new beginning: a case for establishing a sexual and gender-based violence truth commission in South Africa |
| title_fullStr | A new beginning: a case for establishing a sexual and gender-based violence truth commission in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | A new beginning: a case for establishing a sexual and gender-based violence truth commission in South Africa |
| title_short | A new beginning: a case for establishing a sexual and gender-based violence truth commission in South Africa |
| title_sort | new beginning a case for establishing a sexual and gender based violence truth commission in south africa |
| topic | TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE TRUTH COMMISSION GENDER SGBV FEMICIDE INTERSECTIONALITY PATRIARCHY |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41937 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wildstephanie anewbeginningacaseforestablishingasexualandgenderbasedviolencetruthcommissioninsouthafrica AT wildstephanie newbeginningacaseforestablishingasexualandgenderbasedviolencetruthcommissioninsouthafrica |