Spotlight: Collaborating with business to bring violence prevention to the workplace

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) has developed workplace-based violence prevention programmes, such as 'Free to Grow', to address South Africa's high rates of domestic and gender-based violence. Pilots at Tikketai and a partnership with Anglo American demonstrate that integrating these services into the workplace reduces barriers to access, improves employee mental health and family relationships, and increases business productivity and stability.

• The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the South African Parenting Programme Implementers Network (SAPPIN) developed the 'Free to Grow' programme to bring violence prevention into the workplace. This approach addresses the barrier where parenting skills programmes are typically delivered in communities during work hours, making them inaccessible to employed individuals. The programme aims to prevent violence against women and children while improving job satisfaction, performance, and reducing workplace conflict.
• A pilot of the Free to Grow programme conducted between 2021 and 2023 at Tikketai, an agricultural processing business in the Western Cape, showed positive outcomes for both the business and its employees. The business reported increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, and less conflict on the production line. Participants, many of whom were single mothers, reported better mental health, reduced stress, and improved relationships with their children and families.
• The ISS, SAPPIN, and Reos Partners collaborated with Anglo American to create a gender transformative curriculum to address violence associated with mining operations and migrant labour. The curriculum is designed to help partners recognize and respond sensitively to gender-based violence and can be adapted to cover conflict resolution, gender norms, and parenting. A pool of community-based facilitators is scheduled to be trained for the programme's delivery in 2024.
• The programmes respond to a severe violence crisis in South Africa, where police data from April to June 2023 indicates that approximately ten women and three children were murdered daily. This violence is primarily perpetrated by men within intimate partner relationships, creating an intergenerational cycle where children who experience violence are more likely to become victims or perpetrators.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2023). Spotlight: Collaborating with business to bring violence prevention to the workplace. https://issafrica.org/impact/spotlight-collaborating-with-business-to-bring-violence-prevention-to-the-workplace

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Spotlight: Collaborating with business to bring violence prevention to the workplace. 2023. https://issafrica.org/impact/spotlight-collaborating-with-business-to-bring-violence-prevention-to-the-workplace.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Spotlight: Collaborating with business to bring violence prevention to the workplace |date=13 December 2023 |url=https://issafrica.org/impact/spotlight-collaborating-with-business-to-bring-violence-prevention-to-the-workplace |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2023spotlight, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Spotlight: Collaborating with business to bring violence prevention to the workplace}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://issafrica.org/impact/spotlight-collaborating-with-business-to-bring-violence-prevention-to-the-workplace}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }