In 2018, social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp were instrumental in mobilizing South African women, gender non-conforming people, and the LGBTQIA+ community to carry out a national shut down in response to the rising rates of gender-based violence and femicide (GBV&F). This national shutdown led to extensive legislative reform aimed at ending GBV&F.

Besides legislative reform, digital technologies are increasingly playing different roles in combating GBV&F in the 21st century. These roles include software applications that can remotely support GBV survivors. Regrettably,  though, digital technologies are also being used to develop new forms GBV, posing a challenge for existing legal instruments that are becoming inadequate in combating the GBV&F crisis. Thus, investing in how to make digital technologies more accessible and affordable is crucial in ending the GBV&F pandemic in South Africa.

Paper by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference Parliamentary Liaison Office