By : Kgahliso Mangoale
A question my esteemed implementing partner leaders and, I have wrestled with is this: how do we continue to show up as change agents in GBV prevention and response, even when the tide of ending violence feels impossible to reach?
Working in gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response often feels like standing against an unyielding tide. The statistics remain staggering, the stories devastating, and progress can feel achingly slow. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the enormity of the crisis and to wonder whether your efforts truly make a difference. In my work, I am constantly reminded of the need to recognise and affirm the tireless contributions of implementing partners and frontline workers in the Sukuthula! GBV Initiative and across the broader civil society sector. These individuals operate in some of the most disadvantaged and under-resourced communities, places where GBV incidence rates are among the highest, and where approximately 7.3 million women (33.1% of women aged 18 and older) report having experienced physical violence (DSTI.gov.za; HSRC).
Despite the weight of this reality, what many of these practitioners’ share are feelings of exhaustion, the recurring shock of each new case, disappointment in systems that too often fail survivors, and at times, a quiet fear that their contributions are not enough. For DGMT Innovation Fellows, depending on the scale of their host organisations and their proximity to survivors, these same realities can surface as self-doubt, fatigue, or even a quiet sense of inadequacy.
And yet — we must continue to show up.
We show up because every intervention matters: whether it’s a survivor accessing counselling, a referral that leads to safety, a young boy learning healthier masculinities, or a community choosing to break the silence. As a DGMT fellow, showing up may take many forms across our diverse fields — from grant making, education, social and behaviour change, adolescent health, mental health and psychosocial support, and clinical practice, to operations and organisational strengthening. The GBV crisis remains staggering, yet every action, direct or indirectly will help shift the tide toward healing and change. While these actions may not shift national statistics overnight, they change knowledge and attitudes, heal lives, and sow seeds that will bear fruit in another season, another generation.
I want to remind colleagues of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), which emphasises that behaviour change is driven by intention and shaped by attitudes, social norms, and perceived control. Alongside this is the Social Cognitive Theory, which highlights observation, modelling, and socialisation as powerful ways of learning behaviour. Together, these theories underscore the complexity of behaviour change and remind us that incremental, sustained efforts over time can gradually transform behaviours and reduce violence within our communities. At Sukuthula!, one of the implementing partners’ activities is engaging men and boys in shifting gender norms through community dialogues. Over time, these incremental shifts in beliefs, attitudes, norms, and skills contribute to community-wide reductions in tolerance for violence, illustrating that behaviour change is social, learned, and built on intention.
Being a change agent in this work means holding space for both grief and hope. It requires us to confront systemic barriers, poverty, inequality, harmful norms, and weak institutions while acknowledging and celebrating incremental victories such as the National Strategic Plan for gender-based violence and femicide and the establishment of the gender-based violence Fund. While change is slow, layered, and often invisible in the moment, the redress of structural barriers and growth in institutional enablers will facilitate practical and necessary change.
So, how do we keep showing up when the end goal feels out of reach?
- Channel resources to community-rooted interventions, ensuring those closest to the issue lead the solutions.
- Centre survivors’ voices and invest in prevention, guided by their resilience to shift norms for future generations.
- Foster collaboration and collective wellbeing, building communities of practice that sustain both impact and care.
Let us keep showing up, as practitioners, allies, neighbours, and human beings, because the lives of women, children, families, and generations depend on it.