An evidence review of violence prevention in South Africa

The review finds that effective violence prevention in South Africa must be context-responsive, culturally relevant, and trauma-informed, often requiring multilevel interventions that combine social support with economic empowerment. It highlights that while laws and policies provide essential building blocks, sustainable change requires community mobilisation and the addressing of structural determinants like poverty and spatial marginalisation.

• Effective violence prevention interventions are those that are culturally relevant and responsive to their specific delivery context. These interventions typically address multiple risk factors through multilevel approaches, such as combining gender transformative training with income support, or pairing caregiver support with cash transfers.
• Economic exclusion, hunger, spatial marginalisation, and a lack of economic opportunities increase vulnerability to violence. Interventions that integrate economic empowerment with violence prevention strategies demonstrate a positive effect on reducing both victimisation and perpetration.
• Due to South Africa's history of state-sanctioned, community, and interpersonal violence, effective prevention must be trauma-informed. This requires a holistic approach to reduce harm caused by exposure to violence across childhood, community settings, and adult relationships.
• Interventions targeting norms and values, such as dialogue and community mobilisation, can shift norms that support violent behaviour and gender inequality. However, shifting norms alone is insufficient to stop violence; these efforts must be context-relevant and involve both men and women.
• Laws and policies, such as the Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998 and the 2004 Firearms Control Act, serve as important building blocks. While the Domestic Violence Act increased women's use of protection orders and the Firearms Control Act significantly reduced child firearm injuries and deaths, policies must be sensitive to victim needs and effectively implemented to be successful.
• For children, early interventions involving both children and caregivers to challenge beliefs that support violence are more likely to reduce perpetration and victimisation. Specifically, parent-infant interventions that promote responsive caregiving and challenge the acceptance of violence in discipline show promise.
• The criminal justice system is not always effective and can, in some instances, increase the risk of victimisation for women. Consequently, there is a need for alternative methods for dealing with men who use violence.

APA

Amisi, M. M., & Naicker, S. N. (2021). An evidence review of violence prevention in South Africa. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief162.pdf

Chicago

Amisi, Matodzi M, and Sara N Naicker. An evidence review of violence prevention in South Africa. Institute for Security Studies, 2021. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief162.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Amisi |first1=Matodzi M |last2=Naicker |first2=Sara N |title=An evidence review of violence prevention in South Africa |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2021 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief162.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{amisi2021evidence, author = {Amisi, Matodzi M and Naicker, Sara N}, title = {{An evidence review of violence prevention in South Africa}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2021}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief162.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }