As the global community marks the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) is proud to launch a bold public-engagement initiative under the banner: "What Does Justice for GBV Mean for You?" This initiative invites South Africans—and Africans across the continent to reflect, engage, and contribute to a deeper, more inclusive understanding of what justice truly means for survivors, families, and communities affected by gender-based violence and violence against women and girls in particular.

The campaign aims to expand the justice perceptions beyond the courtroom, challenging the narrow assumption that justice is achieved only through convictions. Instead, CSVR's campaign encourages society to consider the full spectrum of justice:

• Social Justice – dismantling the harmful norms, inequalities, and power dynamics that sustain violence.

• Psychosocial and Healing Justice – ensuring survivors and their families receive sustained mental health, trauma, and emotional support.

• Livelihoods and Economic Justice – addressing the economic drivers and consequences of GBV, including poverty, unemployment, and economic dependency.

• Safety and Protection Justice – guaranteeing that communities, schools, public spaces, and homes are places of safety.

• Transformative Justice – transforming institutions, structures and systems at all levels to prevent violence, respond effectively, and uphold survivor dignity.

A Conversation on Justice

With the question "What Does Justice for GBV Mean for You?", CSVR seeks to spark a multi-layered national and continental conversation that recognises that:

• For many survivors, justice is the experience of being heard, believed, and treated with dignity.

• For families, justice means safety, protection, empowerment and long-term psychosocial support.

• For communities, justice means breaking the silence, confronting stigma, and addressing harmful social norms.

• For institutions, justice requires timely, accessible, and survivor-centred services, free from secondary trauma or bureaucratic barriers.

By amplifying these diverse perspectives, the campaign highlights the reality that justice is not a single event, but a continuous process of healing, safety, and transformation.

Justice Beyond the Criminal Justice System

While the criminal justice system remains essential, CSVR's research and programmatic interventions consistently demonstrate that justice is broader than just criminal justice

outcomes. Survivors repeatedly express that justice includes:

• Receiving compassion, respect, and being trusted.

• Access to quality MHPSS services.

• Reintegration into supportive families and communities.

• Economic empowerment and opportunities that allow them to rebuild their lives.

• Living in a society where violence is prevented – not tolerated, justified, or ignored.

This holistic understanding of justice reflects CSVR's core mission of addressing not only the symptoms of violence but also the deep structural and social drivers that sustain it.

CSVR's Commitment During the 16 Days of Activism

Throughout this period, CSVR will roll out a series of activities designed to deepen public reflection, expand knowledge, and strengthen collective responsibility, including:

• The Justice Op-Ed Series: Expert analyses, survivor reflections, and insights on justice, healing, and prevention.

• Interactive Online Platforms: Tools for communities to share their perspectives on what justice looks like in their own lives and local contexts.

• Engagement with policymakers and institutions to highlight gaps, advocate for survivor-centred reforms, and strengthen accountability.

These interventions reflect CSVR's unwavering commitment to trauma-informed Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS, community resilience, evidence-based advocacy, and the advancement of justice systems that uphold the dignity and wellbeing of all survivors.

A Call to Action

CSVR calls on all partners – government actors, civil society, researchers, traditional leaders, private sector partners, and community structures to join us in ensuring that justice becomes a lived reality, not merely a legal aspiration.

Despite post-apartheid progress, racial and social divisions remain. Economic privilege still aligns with race, restricting opportunities. High youth unemployment and exclusion deepen inequality and fuel unrest. Historical grievances and mistrust between groups hinder reconciliation and limit youth-led peacebuilding efforts. Though apartheid officially ended in 1994, its legacy continues to shape South Africa's cultural and social realities particularly impacting Black South African youth. A critical gap after transition has been that South Africa lacks sustainable funding, institutional support, and consistent policies to enable youth participation in peacebuilding.

Historical Background

In 1948,  the South African National Party government imposed apartheid, meaning 'apartness' in Afrikaans, a legal system built to uphold white supremacy by systematically disenfranchising the Black African majority, along with minority Coloured and Indian communities. The apartheid regime entrenched severe racial inequalities, with marginalised communities forcibly removed into impoverished townships and so-called "homelands" or Bantustans, which stripped Black South Africans of participating as active citizens under the guise of self-governance.

The regime actively sought to suppress indigenous cultures by banning native languages in schools and enforcing Afrikaans as the primary medium of instruction. Despite the violent repression, these circumstances sparked a cultural renaissance among Black South Africans, who turned to art, music, and literature as forms of resistance. South African youth played a pivotal role in resisting apartheid, mobilising mass protests and driving the movement that ultimately dismantled the regime.

In 1960s Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), led by Steve Bantu Biko, played a pivotal role in redefining African identity, fostering cultural pride, and challenging systemic injustices. It empowered young South Africans to resist apartheid through cultural and political activism. Also, resistance movements gained momentum, with movements such as the African National Congress (ANC) and Pan African Congress (PAC) led by leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, respectively.

These movements led efforts to dismantle apartheid. Collectively, these efforts resulted in the 1976 Soweto Uprising which saw students protesting against Afrikaans as the medium of instruction, marking a pivotal moment in youth-led resistance.

Nelson Mandela elected as the first democratic president in 1994, South Africa began a journey towards reconciliation and nation-building through initiatives such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).The TRC documented human rights abuses by all parties during apartheid, prioritising restorative justice over punishment. It aimed to uncover the truth, promote healing, and grant amnesty for full disclosure.

Most violence occurred in KwaZulu-Natal between 1990 and 1994, with young men aged thirteen to thirty-six as primary victims. Sexual abuse affected both genders. Though symbolically significant, the TRC had limited effect on structural inequality and failed to provide full reparations.

Despite these efforts, challenges persist. Many remnants of past inequality remain entrenched within social, economic and political structures, prohibiting the complete transition from past to present for many South Africans.

Contemporary Youth Resilience

In March 2015, Rhodes Must Fall movement was a student-led protest at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa, demanding the removal of Cecil Rhodes' statue, seen as a symbol of colonialism and racism. On 9 April, the university removed the statue, marking a stand against white supremacy and institutional inequality.

In October 2015, Fees Must Fall a student-led protest  movement emerged in South Africa, calling for free higher education and decolonised curricula. Starting at the University of the Witwatersrand, it spread nationwide, reflecting youth activism for socio-economic justice and continuing the fight against systemic inequality.

Social media platforms empower South African youth to voice concerns, mobilise communities, and push for justice. Movements like Rhodes Must Fall and Fees Must Fall show how digital tools drive unity and influence policy change.

Youth Participation in Peacebuilding, Policy-making and Governance

Although youth form a large part of South Africa's population, their involvement in governance remains limited. Initiatives aim to boost participation in local decision-making, elections, and leadership programmes. Policymakers and organisations work to embed youth perspectives in governance, helping to create a more inclusive and forward-looking society.

South Africa  launched the Youth Peace Mediators Mentoring Programme in partnership with Finland. This initiative equips young peacebuilders with practical tools for conflict resolution, mediation, and post-conflict reconstruction. It aligns with UN Security Council Resolution 2250 and the African Union's Agenda 2063, both of which advocate for youth inclusion in peace processes.

Most South African youth lack the skills and confidence for peacebuilding without mentorship and empowerment. The education system often fails to provide tools for conflict resolution, yet many young people remain keen to engage in community initiatives that promote peace and reduce violence.

Recommendation to enhance youth involvement in peacebuilding.

To effectively enhance youth involvement in peacebuilding, the Government must adopt a policy that addresses socioeconomic inequalities, empowers young people through targeted training and mentorship, fosters meaningful intergenerational dialogue, integrates peace education into school curricula, and promotes restorative justice. Furthermore, supporting youth-led media and platforms ensures their voices and solutions are visible, valued, and central to building lasting peace.

The morning of June 16, 1976, in Soweto, was characterised by demonstrations, protests and riots led by black South African youth. The uprising was sparked by the apartheid government's efforts to introduce Afrikaans as the primary medium of instruction in black schools. This was the new education policy of the apartheid government, and it was perceived as an effort to instil Afrikaner culture and way of life. The reaction of the youth of 1976, and the subsequent responses of today's youth to unequal education and their socio-economic struggles mirror each other and compel us to draw comparisons and parallels.

In contemporary South Africa, the youth are confronted by endemic unemployment, food insecurity, climate impact on future generations, violence, and other socio-economic issues that are detrimental to the livelihood of young people, such as the non-redistributive education policies.

Education policies in South Africa speak to the roles and principles that direct the nation's delivery and administration of education. Government agencies, such as the Department of Education, are tasked with adopting these policies as their form of governance and its goals. They intend to guarantee that all students have access to high-quality instruction that satisfies their requirements and equips them for life beyond school.

Education policies are intended to promote equity, access, and excellence in education and to address the historical inequalities that have been a significant challenge in the country. However, these are complicated by the lack of redistributive measures in education policies from the perspective of socio-economic inclusion of the black majority in post-conflict democratic South Africa.

In response to the non-redistributive education policies, South Africa has witnessed prominent student protests across universities from 2015 until today. The Stellenbosch University movement #Open Stellenbosch 2015 exposed what was left unattended from the country's transition from the apartheid system to a new democratic order when transitional justice processes began in South Africa. What happened at Stellenbosch University is no different from what happened in Soweto in 1976, the continued use of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. In contrast, the majority of the students do not understand the language. The issue goes far beyond the preference for the Afrikaans language but also speaks to the continuous efforts of domination and the use of educational institutions to instil Afrikaner culture. #OpenStellenbosch movement of 2015 exposed the deeply entrenched hegemonic white Afrikaner culture and the exclusion of black students and staff members post-apartheid South Africa.

From an economic perspective, the #FeesMustFall movement came about to question the financial exclusion of black students in institutions of higher learning on financial basis and affordability. Their economic position as black students often disrupts their inclusion in institutions of higher learning as black students. Yearly, we still see pockets of movements that speak to the financial exclusion of black students in South African universities when students are to register for the academic year. This renders the educational policies in post-conflict South Africa non-redistributive and ineffective in addressing the issues facing historically marginalised black South African students.

Social policies ought to be collective efforts to directly promote social welfare, social institutions, and social relations. They are meant to advance redistribution aimed at balancing the scales of equal participation and access to rights, the protection of people from the vagaries of the market and the changing circumstances of life, the enhancement of the productive potential of members of society, enhancing social cohesion and state building, all of which have not yet been realised in South Africa.

The nation-building project of the "rainbow nation" in South Africa which sought to enhance social cohesion through a forged national identity inclusive of all is complicated by the unaddressed legacy of the apartheid era, and unequal education, that remains unattended.

As stated in the preamble of the Constitution of South Africa, in recognition of the injustices of the past, particularly in the education system, the need is greater now to "heal the divisions of the past" and "improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person", particularly the youth whose demographic potential as leaders of today and tomorrow requires that quality and equal education becomes the foundation for harnessing their socio-political participation, decision making and leadership.

Language should not be used as a barrier to learning, and it should not be used to perpetuate structural violence and domination. There is also a need to reimagine social welfare initiatives aimed at progressive realisation of quality and equal higher education for all, irrespective of socio-economic marginalisation, such as such as the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and ensure that they do not require people to provide evidence for their poverty or try to qualify their 'need' for this government assistance.

1994: The euphoria, the hopes, the dreams, the answered prayers, and finally, the struggle was worth it. Democratic South Africa brought hopes and dreams that black South Africans were finally going to be recognised. Our ancestors' tears and efforts were not in vain.

It is obvious to most South Africans that racism remains a key challenge to our democracy. As such, as a society we owe it to ourselves to engage with this issue with truthfulness and openness. Inequalities created and institutionalised by apartheid are still prevalent 14 years into the new dispensation. Coupled with attitudinal shift, combating these inequalities in all their manifestations would be one way of addressing this challenge rather than waiting till we are shocked by a demeaning act such as the University of the Free State and Riverlea Secondary School sagas.

What we cannot overemphasise is the fact that we cannot undo the legacy of a unique system such as apartheid overnight. It is our responsibility to continuously strive towards reconciliation, transformation and nationhood as South Africans. After all, nation states are political constructs and therefore have to be consistently moulded through social engineering. It is dangerous to our democracy for anyone in this society to hold the view that racism is a given. Since time immemorial all justifications advanced by apologists of this prejudice have been proven untrue. That notwithstanding, some people in our society are still prone to racism and this psychic problem is what we have to address.

One of the most disturbing deductions we could draw from the University of the Free State video is that a racist mindset is being passed down from generation to generation in our society. The students portrayed in the video are young people, but are depicted engaging in appalling acts that affront our very essence as human beings. It goes without saying that a human being deserves dignity, their racial background or social economic standing regardless. It is the socialisation of the young generation out of all forms of prejudice that we ought to promote. The issue of racism is a multi-pronged one and approaches geared towards fighting it must be equally diverse.

As a country, we have to confront and truthfully engage with issues of social justice. Identity politics in which challenges such as racism, clannism, ethnicity and the like become pronounced find fertile ground in a society faced by scandalous socio-economic differentiations such as South Africa. Efforts towards integration in our society need not be hampered by those among us who subscribe to racism and its attendant virulence. Nowhere provides a better point of departure than our institutions of learning for these are meant to be spaces for proper socialisation and character formation in our society.  We are alert to the fact that many people in South Africa, not least young people, will continue grappling with integration much as we strive to overcome the apartheid legacy.

What was reported to have taken place at the University of the Free State where white students allegedly fed junior black female staff on what Sky News evocatively referred to as 'urine stew' is a blemish on South Africa's new democracy premised on non- racialism, among other values. Most South Africans are not under any illusions that racism will vanish into thin air. Concrete measures at the legislative level geared towards preventing, reducing and even eliminating racism and its accompanying manifestations in our communities should perpetually be in place. It is imperative to create and consistently mould a society that has no room for racial discrimination or any other discrimination for that matter. In addition, people have to socialise themselves, as well others, out of behaviour and choices of language that pander to racial profiling.

South Africans owe it to themselves to oppose racism for it bodes ill for our society particularly in its quest for integration and nationhood. There is no magic stick to this problem. Racial biases perpetually find expression in our speeches and practices in subtle ways. Many a time people deny any intentional biases. This subtle form of racism remains complex thus dangerous since it is real. We cannot afford to gloss over our differences as a multicultural society and the legacy of our history of segregation which is still in existence in our society. Our homes, schools, churches and workplaces continue to bear testimony to this. The question of racism must invariably remain in the public limelight so that South Africans can engage with it in public forums and the media in order to guard this country against any form of divisions.

Racism must be addressed through the regeneration of our moral fabric. Lofty ideals such as ubuntu (humanity towards others), the concept of a rainbow nation and even African renaissance must find form and relevance in our interactions and lived experiences. These philosophical concepts that have core cultural values drawn from the cosmology of our society should invariably be the centrepiece of our sense of nationhood. Ultimately, anti-racism efforts are anchored in the morality, science and politics of our society for these were used to support and promote the same.

The constitution must provide recourse to those aggrieved as a result of racism much as it may be sometimes difficult for the law to define an offence as having been purely racial. Equality courts are a promising step towards that direction. However, sensitisation needs to be carried out so as to alert people to their existence and role in arbitrating prejudice related offences. Consistent denunciation of racism by top government leadership as well as other leaders in different spheres of our society would be important in promoting coexistence, especially to young growing minds. Racism is a scourge that humiliates both the perpetrator as well as the victim and so we need to guard ourselves against it lest we lose our dignity.

The challenge that racism poses to sustainable peace and reconciliation in South African cannot be overemphasised. Until we address the social divisions as a result of the history of segregation our quest for the same is likely to remain illusory.

Sinothile Msomi and Westen Shilaho are associated with the Race, Identity and Citizenship Project of the Peacebuilding Programme at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.

Originally published on Sangonet.