Kwanele! (It’s Enough): Violence against women and its mental health consequences in South Africa

Abstract

Violence against women and young girls in the global village, and in particular, in the South African context continues to remain a tragedy that not only affects victims of abuse but also affects families and communities directly or indirectly. A notable body of knowledge underlines that South Africa is in fact one of the countries with the most cases of abuse and oppression against women and young girls. This is enough to indicate that more work needs to be done to eradicate and denounce this challenge at scholarly and non-scholarly levels, respectively. In view of this reality, this article aims to explore the nature and extent of this conundrum hinging on scoping literature review as a qualitative research technique. The objective is to reflect on and comprehend its causes, consequences and intricacies in order to propose effective strategies for prevention, intervention and support for survivors. The findings indicate that challenges that continue to engulf women and young girls remain uncovered in the broader African context, and this creates a repetitive episode of incidents where women and young girls are subjugated. Among other foremost discussions, it becomes clear that ethnological perceptions or stereotypes as well as unreported cases of violence against women and young girls are to be implicated given that they delay progress towards gender justice and social cohesion in South Africa. Thus, it remains compelling that violence against women is regarded as a catastrophe that necessitates urgent measures. The closing remarks of this article provide some of the potential recommendations that can be considered to mitigate this conundrum.