Moving towards innovative and evidence-based practices and strategies for empowerment and support

The HSRC, in collaboration with the University of Cape Town, cordially invites you to a webinar exploring health-seeking behaviour among men and boys who are survivors or victims of gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa. GBV research and interventions in South Africa have largely focused on women and girls, inadvertently rendering boys and men invisible as victims or survivors. This gap undermines comprehensive GBV prevention and response, especially given the established links between men’s childhood victimisation and later perpetration.

Findings from the HSRC’s recent national prevalence study on GBV in South Africa reveal the magnitude of this hidden crisis: over a fifth (22.8%) of men reported high levels of childhood trauma. South African men and boys face multiple and compounding barriers to accessing support services, which are rooted in 1) the social constructions of masculinities which equates vulnerability with weakness, institutional systems designed primarily for women and girls, and societal disbelief continue to hinder men and boys from seeking help. Aligned with Pillar Four of the National Strategic Plan for GBV and Femicide and adopting a decolonial and human security framework to GBV prevention, this webinar will bring together government departments, academics, policymakers, and civil society organisations to discuss the victimisation of men and boys in South Africa and their health seeking behaviours. It will further explore evidence-based and innovative interventions for the empowerment and support of male victims or survivors of GBV in South Africa

Date: 18 November 2025

Time:  10:00 – 13:00

Venue: Zoom

Registration link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/-P54eC5uQ1ukZrbLz_GxuA

Event enquiries: dhisaacs@hsrc.ac.za and gkhan@hsrc.ac.za