Gender-based Violence In South Africa Research Articles

Empowering Women, Building Safety: Strategies for Addressing Gender-Based Violence in South Africa

Dismantling Gender-Based Violence in South AfricaThis study examines gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa with a particular emphasis on women's experiences. It highlights the societal norms and underlying power disparities that support this violence when viewed through a gendered lens. Principal Subjects: GBV against women's prevalence and types in South Africa. the effects of GBV on survivors' emotional, mental, and physical health. The cultural, societal, and economic aspects that lead to GBV. The benefits and drawbacks of the current survivor support programs and interventions. In order to effectively prevent and respond, policy changes, social initiatives, and support services are required. Methodological approach, a variety of techniques will be used in this study, such as: review of the body of research on GBV in South Africa with an emphasis on the experiences of women. analysis of pertinent data on the incidence, manifestations, and effects of GBV. To further understand women's lived experiences, qualitative research techniques like focus groups and interviews may be included (subject to further research design). Principal Arguments Understanding and combating GBV in South Africa require a gendered analysis. GBV is largely caused by power disparities and patriarchal attitudes. Interventions that are effective must empower women and deal with the underlying causes of GBV. For long-lasting change to occur, legislators, NGOs, communities, and individuals must work together. Conclusions, GBV is a complicated problem that calls for a multifaceted strategy that addresses its underlying causes and gives women more control. South Africa may advance toward a future free from gender-based violence by putting into place efficient legislative measures, social programs, and enhanced support services.

The Intricacies and Prevalence of Gender-Based Violence in South Africa: Forms, Causes and Mitigation Measures

Gender-based violence (GBV) is prevalent in South Africa, primarily attributed to historical systems of social inequality, patriarchy and racism that dominated during the apartheid regimes, with lasting impacts persisting today. Thus, this study explored the intricate dynamics and prevalence of GBV in the context of South Africa. To realize this objective, the study employed a qualitative research methodology. To collect data, the study employed a secondary data technique such as a literature review of existing sources. Different datasets were used such as Google Scholar, National Institutes of Health, Google, and Scopus. The criterion employed to source information was the use of keywords which are shedding light on the social, cultural, and economic factors contributing to GBV. The study explored the root causes and manifestations of violence against women and girls. It is found that South Africa is grappling with high rates of GBV due to poverty, unemployment, cultural beliefs, and legal factors. To mitigate the prevalence and causes of GBV, efforts to combat GBV should encompass legal reforms and protection, prevention education, awareness, and NGO programmes that address the profoundness and complexity of violence against women and girls. The study has a vast potential to contribute to the production of new knowledge on forms, causes and mitigation measures for GBV. It will also contribute by addressing gaps or limitations in the existing literature on the phenomenon being studied. Keywords: Grievous Bodily Harm; Gender-Based Violence; Poverty and Unemployment, Patriarchal Systems, Legal Factors, Women, Men.

Reflecting on Responses to Women With Disabilities’ Experiences of Gender-Based Violence in South Africa

Reflecting on Responses to Women With Disabilities’ Experiences of Gender-Based Violence in South Africa

The African Pastor as a Public Figure in Response to Gender-Based Violence in South Africa: A Public Pastoral Intervention

The burgeoning field of public theology has garnered significant scholarly attention. Amidst its multifaceted discussions, a recurring theme asserts that theology plays a vital and irreplaceable role in public discourse. This perspective contends that engaging with matters of public concern from a theological standpoint not only contributes meaningfully to public discourse but also shapes our understanding of the world, human existence, and the divine. Within the African context, particularly in South Africa, gender-based violence (GBV) remains a pressing societal issue despite government and organizational efforts. This article delves into the potential role of pastors as public figures in addressing the persistent challenge of GBV. It explores the implications of pastors assuming public roles within an African context and how this engagement can be instrumental in combating GBV. By drawing on literature related to public practical theology, pastoral care, and GBV in South Africa, the article advocates for proactive public interventions by pastoral ministries. Through synthesizing insights from existing scholarship, it contributes to ongoing discussions at the intersection of theology, pastoral practice, and societal issues, with a specific focus on addressing GBV in the unique South African context.

Nyaa, ‘motlhanka wa Jehofa’! (Stop it, ‘man of God’!): An Ubuntu Pentecostal response to gender-based violence within the Neo-prophetic Movement in South Africa

Background: Statistics from the Pew Research Centre indicate that in sub-Saharan Africa, 796 million out of 822 m people claim the same Christian religious affiliation. Pentecostal Christians total 107 m. These figures suggest that religion shapes the worldview of many sub-Saharan inhabitants. Many are adherents of Ubuntu, which does not dichotomise lived experiences from the influence of the spiritual (the Supreme Being, spirits, and the ancestors). On the one hand, the World Health Organization has labelled South Africa as the rape capital of the world because it accounts for the highest figure of gender-based violence (GBV) globally. Intimate partner violence (IPV) and non-partner violence, characterised by rape and attempted rape, constitute a significant portion of sexual violence, which is the primary and highest category of GBV in South Africa. The second, third, and fourth categories are physical violence, socio-economic and financial violence, and psychological/emotional violence. Various South African courts have sentenced several pastors from the Neo-prophetic Movement (NPM) for non-partner violence.Objectives: The aim of this study is to reflect on non-partner violence within the NPM in South Africa and to respond to this scourge by applying Ubuntu Pentecostalism as a framework.Method: This article thus poses the question: How might South African Pentecostals address the scourge of non-partner violence within the NPM? It, thus, uses Ubuntu Pentecostalism.Results: The article shows that is that is possible to mobilise members of NPM and the surrounding community to counteract the scourge of non-partner violence among NPM in South Africa.Conclusion: The article concludes by providing a four-step strategy to curb th scourge of non-partner violence in the NPM in South Africa.Contribution: This strategy contributes to curbing the scourge of non-partner violence within the NPM in South Africa.

Neo-Pentecostalism and gender-based violence before and during COVID-19 in South Africa

Pentecostal Christians in Africa preach a pragmatic gospel that attempts to address social, practical and contextual concerns. Similar patterns may be seen in the emergence of neo-Pentecostalism in South Africa and other parts of the continent. Neo-Pentecostalism is commonly known for the use of God-talk that promises people solutions to their socio-economic issues such as unemployment and poverty if they obey the prescripts of the so-called ‘prophets’ or ‘man of God’. Nonetheless, the global devastation caused by the COVID-19 left much to be desired. In South Africa, it highlighted the high extent of gender-based violence (GBV) in addition to other societal issues. Although GBV has always been a problem in South Africa, its cases increased drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic to the point where GBV was also declared a pandemic. This has compelled various social structures to start exploring solutions to stop this conundrum. The overarching question posed in this article was how neo-Pentecostal rhetoric about God contributes to GBV cases in South Africa before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, given that God-talk has been utilised to influence people’s perceptions of and reactions to other societal concerns. As a result, this article aimed to investigate this subject while also outlining some potential solutions that African Pentecostals can consider as possible contributions to the struggle against GBV in contemporary South Africa. The study used a literature analysis to achieve this goal and it followed an interdisciplinary approach in the collection of the relevant data. These disciplines included theology, social sciences gender and sexuality studies. Therefore, the literature analysis focused on how neo-Pentecostalism intersect with gender and social issues that are actors in the rise of GBV in South Africa. Furthermore, the concept of God-talk was adopted as a theoretical framework guiding the discussion in this article, whilst the African ethic of Ubuntu [humanness] was proposed as an antidote that can be used in transforming God-talk and contributors of GBV in church and society. Ubuntu brings to consciousness that pastors and every member of society should treat each other as created in the image of God and with respect and humanness as we all exist because of and for others.Contributions: This article contributes to the body of knowledge aimed at finding solutions to GBV in South Africa. Finding solutions is critical as GBV continue to be a challenge in South Africa and elsewhere.

S v P – The Abuse of Protection Orders to "Gag" Victims of Rape

In recent years there has been the emergence of global and local anti-gender-based violence movements such as #MeToo and, in South Africa, #menaretrash, which has precipitated an increase in the disclosure of the names of the alleged perpetrators of sexual violence by the survivors. The increase in the disclosure of these names has been met with the intensification of legal processes by alleged perpetrators to counter and silence survivors. This case note will focus on the recent appeal case of S v P 2022 2 SACR 81 (WCC) in the High Court of South Africa, Western Cape Division, in Cape Town. In this case the court had to consider whether the court a quo was correct in issuing a final protection order (in terms of the Protection from Harassment Act 17 of 2011) against the appellant (S) where the court a quo found that her act of harassment was a third party's public disclosure of the respondent (P) as her rapist. It will be argued that the Western Cape High Court was correct in finding that the court a quo should not have issued a final protection order against S. It will be further argued that the reasons to overturn this decision included the court a quo's failure to appreciate the gendered purpose of the Protection from Harassment Act and that P misused and abused the Act in order to silence S. It will then be argued that one of the reasons why survivors choose to disclose alleged perpetrators' names on social platforms is a societal contextual reason, which includes the high rates of gender-based violence in South Africa alongside the high rates of attrition in gender-based violence cases in the criminal justice system. Finally, I will consider the cases of Mdlekeza v Gallie 2021 (WCHC) (unreported) case number 15490/2020 of 20 April 2021 and Booysen v Major (WCHC) (unreported) case number 5043/2021 of 30 August 2012 and argue that these cases are further examples of this abuse of process employed to silence survivors. With the courts seeing an increase in these applications to silence victims, it is argued that the courts must adopt a feminist-contextualised approach in order to avoid gagging survivors of gender-based violence and being complicit in the increasing weaponisation of court processes by alleged perpetrators.

Exploring the Impact of Gender-Based Violence in South Africa

In 2021, Prof. Corné Davis, f rom the Department of Strategic Communication at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), approached KPMG South Africa regarding the publication of an updated research report on the cost of gender-based violence (GBV) to the South African economy, following a frequently quoted report titled ‘Too Costly to Ignore – The Economic Impact of Gender-Based Violence in South Africa’. A memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed between UJ, Shared Value Africa Initiative, and KPMG South Africa toconduct research and to publish a new GBV report for South Africa. In the 2014 KPMG report, Prof. Koustuv Dalal of Mid Sweden University was cited with reference to the cost estimations he had done during a study in KwaZulu-Natal in 2011. Prof. Daviscontacted Prof. Dalal by email to invite him to participate in the study.

Siphefumula Ngenxeba in our own homes: Gender-based violence during COVID-19 pandemic

Gender-based violence (GBV) has become a major problem in South Africa, making headlines on a regular basis. When the president of the Republic of South Africa, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, declared the lockdown in reaction to the worldwide pandemic: COVID-19 one of the expectations was that families would spend more time together in harmony. However, the number of recorded domestic violence instances increased as a result of the lockdown. Women have historically been subjected to GBV in their communities, businesses, streets, marketplaces and even churches; recently, their homes have proven to be unsafe as well. There have been a number of marches of women around the country to call for justice for women who are victims of GBV. The lives of women were endangered, what was supposed to be a place of solace became a dungeon to them. They were essentially breathing through the wound in their own homes: Baphefumula ngenxiba. This article, through a literature review, will highlight how the lives of women were endangered during the lockdown in response to the global pandemic in South Africa. This article aims to call missionary churches to practice the theology of missio Dei within this context.Contribution: In the light of the above challenges of GBV, the missionary churches are called to practice the theology of missio Del within the context of gender-based violence that took place in private homes during COVID-19. ‘Siphefumula Ngenxeba’ is a Zulu phrase that means [we are breathing through the wound]. The church is therefore called to play a significant role in response to GBV in South Africa.

South Africa's gender-based violence: an exploration of a single sided account

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a global social problem that has received considerable attention from policymakers and researchers. However, when speaking of GVB, significant attention is paid to women who are seen as being at the receiving end of violence. Although statistics do support the notion that women are mostly exposed to GBV, little attention has been paid to GBV against men as often not, it is the man who is seen as the aggressor and the woman painted as the victim. This article investigates reasons Gender-Based Violence (GBV) against men is not being addressed in South Africa. Males are also victims of GBV in South Africa, although the government, media, and police pay little attention to GBV against males. It is critical to remember, that men, regardless of their muscularity, can be mistreated by men or women. Males may be raped, killed, or attacked, and they also deserve government care and protection. In South Africa, the government is especially concerned about The GBV against women and children, and August is recognized as Women's Month, where women's rights and protections are vigorously contested. However, in South Africa, nothing is done to protect men from gender-based violence. This article acknowledges violence against women and children in South Africa; however, it contends that the government has done insufficient to combat violence against males in South Africa, even though the constitution guarantees males' human rights and recognizes that they can also be victims of GBV.

FROM ‘VICTIM’ TO ‘SURVIVOR’: DECONSTRUCTING THE PERVASIVE NOTION OF VICTIMHOOD IN DISCOURSES AROUND PROGRAMMES DEALING WITH GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

Social workers are among key professionals rendering empowerment services to people affected by gender-based violence in South Africa. These services are rendered within the developmental and empowerment approaches that were introduced in the post-apartheid era. Although the introduction of democracy brought a paradigm shift towards a developmental approach, social welfare and social work, there is paucity of research that investigates the utilisation of the concept of “victim” within the empowerment services rendered to people harmed by gender-based violence. The concept of “victim” has not been extensively researched theoretically and empirically. This article critically analyses the usage of the concept of “victim” in the empowerment social work services and posits a deconstruction of the pervasive notion of victimhood in discourses around programmes dealing with gender-based violence. It is hoped that this article will stimulate debates and research focused on the labels adopted in the empowerment services, as well as in developmental and social work in different societal contexts. Keywords: developmental approach, empowerment, social work, survivor, victim

Gamification as a Tool for Social Change: A Case of Gender-Based Violence in South Africa

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is one of the most significant social issues affecting the world, and just as in many other countries, GBV is pervasive in South Africa, where cultural norms and gender-based customs and traditions serve to condone and reinforce abusive practices. According to Article 13 of the Istanbul Convention, a preventive intervention requires heightened awareness as a first step in changing attitudes and behaviour that perpetuate the different forms of GBV. Hence, this study explores how awareness-raising can be effectively used as a preventive strategy to induce change in attitudes and behaviour associated with gender-based violence (GBV). Firstly, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify, select, and critically appraise existing empirical studies on GBV in South Africa. The systematic review used PRISMA guidelines for literature selection and Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) data extraction form to extract relevant data. The findings from the systematic review were described using a summary table, which reveals the different forms of GBV, the overarching causes and the contributing factors to GBV in South Africa. As this is a preliminary study expected to lead into future studies, relevant secondary data, including previous empirical studies, were reviewed to explore how gamification can be employed for awareness campaigns that challenge persistent myths, prejudices, and stereotypes and disrupt different pathways that lead to GBV. Finally, the study provides a structure for the future experimental study where an interactive awareness-raising game will be developed. This paper also stimulates new research directions on the potential of gamification for social change. Keywords: Awareness-raising game, Gamification, Gender-based violence, Gender theory

Gender-based violence in South Africa: A narrative reflection

The pervasiveness of gender-based violence (GBV) against women and children constitutes the most severe expression of discrimination and dehumanisation of women and children in South Africa. Even before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic came, domestic violence was already one of the greatest human rights violations. Women for centuries suffered different forms of violation and continue to struggle in subtle forms in the 21st century. This article investigates the sociocultural theories, narrative reflections and COVID-19 pandemic challenges associated with the prevalence of GBV in South Africa. The article argues that patriarchal culture, religion, gender norms, lockdown and violence in South Africa perpetuate gender-based abuse. Therefore, the article unfolds this research through a literature review and narrative approach which is used to allow the co-researchers to share their stories. The article embarks on sociocultural experiences, the scourge of GBV in South Africa, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, qualitative interviews and theological reflections and concludes by suggesting future possibilities to fight GBV.Contribution: This article contributes to an understanding that abafazi nabantwana baphefumla ngenxeba [women and children are breathing through the wound] amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. It discusses the prevalence of GBV, the intersection of religious cultural effects, social sciences, gender inequality and the continued oppression of women and children.

The paradox of safety between pastors and female congregants

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a world concern; however, in South Africa it has been declared as a national crisis that is embedded in the social-cultural context and history of the country. One of the greatest challenges in South Africa is the high unemployment rate and the pressure to fit into society. Some of those unemployed South Africans go to church for prayers with the hope to get employed. Unemployed South Africans are vulnerable due to unemployment and pressure to fit in, and this is sometimes influenced by social media. Some pastors take advantage of these individuals either by asking them to plant a “seed” (money) or taking advantaged of them sexually. Women, young and old are the most vulnerable in church, the pressure to get employment, to get married, to stay married, to have children etc. are the most common prayer requests from women in church. GBV in South Africa have been an ongoing investigation by various disciplines. One of the most difficult and sensitive realities to investigate is the existence of clergy who abuse women they are supposed to care for as caregivers. The Church has been in the front line in spearheading programms within it to deal with GBV but little to done are said about Pastors as perpetrators directly the problem of GBV has been further fueled by socio status, poverty, gender and equality issues, African culture, long-standing silence about a problem that undermines the very foundations of pastoral work and institutional Christianity: sexual abuse of women by pastors. The aim of this article to challenge theology and the church on how the cycle of perpetrators among pastors can be broken and what role can pastoral counsellors’ play regarding both victims and offenders to prevent history from repeating itself and assure female congregants of their safety in church, this study will use literature review.

Social media as a campaign tool against online gender-based violence in South Africa

The object of this research is: to explore the correlation between social media as a campaign tool against online gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa.
 The researchers investigated the following problem: Over the past decade, there have been several prominent incidents of harassment and stalking in South Africa. The issue of GBV against women in South Africa is prevalent in mainstream and online social media. Thus, women and girls are targeted in what is seemingly becoming a prolonged cycle of GBV in the country. The Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020 was found to be a relevant legal framework in South Africa for responding to online GBV. Thus, the study was underpinned by social exchange and the spiral of silence theories.
 Methods and Materials: In this non-empirical study, a systematic review was employed. Social media as a campaign tool against online gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa was qualitatively studied. For the data collection process, the most recent repositories such as journal articles, books, reports, conference papers, dissertations and organizations’ websites were gathered and systematically reviewed from July 2022 to November 2022. However, thematic analysis was used with due care to analyze data for the study. The NVivo software was used to identify common, repetitive and different themes.
 The main results of the research are: As a result of the study's findings, there have been an increasing number of social media campaigns on sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter used by women all over the world to help combat the scourge of GBV. In this regard, women are using social media platforms to cry out for help and band together to fight a common enemy that violates their human rights and bodily integrity through social injustice.
 The area of practical use of the research is for: This study is pivotal since it aimed at proposing intervention strategies to combat online GBV in South Africa. Most importantly, the outcome of this study will help in the development of more policy roadmaps for the successful combat of online GBV in South Africa and across the world. In a nutshell, the study recommends that law enforcement agencies, policymakers and civil society, among others, put in place additional frameworks to curb online GBV in South Africa.

Applying Reflective Writing as a Participatory Methodology for “Speaking-Up” about Gender-Based Violence in South Africa

ABSTRACT South Africa contends with gender-based violence (GBV) and its societal consequences. This study, therefore, engages with discussions around reflective writing as a participatory methodology to foster free and inclusive expression on issues around GBV in South Africa. My study proffers a diverse response by exploring how participatory research and assessment approaches, through reflective writing as a pedagogical practice, serve as viable premises to further debates on opposing acts of violence. It discusses the feasibility of reflective writing as a tool for articulating and understanding human views on GBV. I also evaluate how creating a safe and anonymous space through reflective writing influences how issues on GBV are perceived. I achieve these using a qualitative research approach and applying a thematic method of data analysis. The story of Fatmata and Mohamed and the poem I got flowers today were the literary pieces used as a springboard for the written reflections analysed in the study. Results indicate that students found it easier to communicate through written reflections rather than publicly speaking about their perceptions of GBV. Their reflections became tools for expression. This can be advantageous for public engagement and a call to action on GBV.

Locked in Abuse: Intimate Partner Violence against Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract The whole world has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that has held the health and livelihoods of people in its grip since 2020. In their initial response to the pandemic, governments throughout the world implemented social distancing restrictions, also referred to as lockdown, that required people to remain at home to prevent the spread of the virus. Intimate partner violence is a persistent challenge in South Africa and the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown measures have caused great concerns about their impact on women and domestic issues, especially those who reside with violent partners. This paper attempts to explore the impact of intimate partner violence on women during the COVID-19 lockdown period in South Africa. A qualitative method was used to collect data from previous studies, news reports, and two social media platforms. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, data from 2020 and 2021 data were collected from Facebook and Twitter. Keywords such as “gender-based violence”, “GBV during lockdown”, “intimate partner violence”, “abused women”, and hashtags with the words “stopkillingwomen”, “menaretrash”, “justiceforwomen”, and “GBV” were used to find information. To augment the findings of the study, data were also collected from reports by the government of South Africa that were issued since the beginning of lockdown in March 2020 as well as peer-reviewed scholarly articles. The findings showed that most victims of gender-based violence (GBV) lived with abusive partners during the lockdown. The Minister of Police supported the findings during a media briefing, mentioning that the number of gender-based violence complaints continued to remain high during lockdown. People on social media posted emotional messages about this topic and generally shared their anger that victims of GBV do not get justice as the perpetrators do not get sentenced. The study recommends that GBV in South Africa should be addressed more practically. Moreso, laws should be more rigorously enforced to bring perpetrators to book and to protect any potential female victims from any form of abuse, especially GBV.

Reimagining Gender-Based Violence in the Eye of the COVID-19 Storm and Beyond: A Practical-Missiological Reflection on an African Family through the Lenses of the Biblical Narrative of Tamar

Humanity is not battling only against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) but also against gender-based violence (GBV), which has risen to epidemic proportions globally during the COVID-19 storm. There has been a rapid increase in domestic violence and other forms of GBV as nations imposed lockdown restrictions as a way to curb the COVID-19 storm. In this article, it is my contention that some of the people who were compelled to quarantine became vulnerable to GBV. In his presidential address to the nation on 18 June 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa identified GBV in South Africa as a second pandemic. There is also a considerable outcry in our inability, both as humanity at large and government, in particular, to deal with this scourge and find lasting solutions to it. This article locates the scourge of GBV within the ‘storm’ of COVID-19 using an African family unit as a case study. Upon presenting a practical-missiological reflection of the biblical narrative of Tamar in 2 Samuel 13—both through missional lenses and hermeneutic analysis—this article reimagines an ecclesial praxis that is life-affirming and liberating to victims of GBV as it applies in family contexts. It proposes tangible solutions to GBV within an African family, but the results can be replicated globally where GBV remains a pandemic to be dealt with.

The Imperilled Right to Life, Femicide Crisis in South Africa: Critical Considerations for Legislators

Femicide is one of the most atrocious acts that are principal causes of premature deaths of women and girls who experience gender-based violence in South Africa. These violent acts that are mainly perpetrated by their male counterparts include inter alia, physical, emotional, psychological and economic violence. Constitutionally, everyone has the right to life, however; the mass killings of women in the hands of males, categorically implies clear inadequacies of the state apparatus to guarantee this valuable human right to women and girls in South Africa. Consulted literature reveals that little has been done in terms of scholarly interrogation of the right to life for women against the heinous femicide crimes committed with no regard for women’s human rights in South Africa. Aim: to explore the deprivation of right to life of those who have fallen victims to the national crisis of femicide. Methodology: for the purpose of this article, the author adopted a qualitative research approach where a variety of non-empirical methods and techniques were employed. The methodological inclination entails a desktop analysis by a means of intensive literature study where information produced has been scholarly scrutinised through a process of intellectual analysis, categorisation, integration, reflection and synthesis where meanings were ascribed to the main themes of this article. Findings: It has been deduced that there are legislative shortcomings that need urgent lawmakers’ attention in order to protect women’s right to life. This implies that femicide law is vital to curb the spate of arbitrary killings of women and girls in South Africa. Additional measures to consider include school-curriculum pre-emptive programmes and community-based advocacy programmes to create a society that honours women’s right to life.

Family supportive supervision in context: supporting breastfeeding at work among teachers in South Africa

ABSTRACT Family supportive supervisor behaviours (FSSB) has received growing attention as an effective set of behaviours to facilitate the integration of work and family responsibilities. However, the FSSB construct remains limited in its sensitivity to context and our understanding of FSSB remains embedded in experiences from high-income global North countries and in white collar and private organisational settings. This paper presents a context-sensitive interpretation of FSSB for breastfeeding at work among public school teachers in South Africa–a middle-income global South country. Thematic analysis of in-depth interview data from teachers who are mothers, and principals as supervisors, underscored intersecting layers of contextual complexities that advance understanding of FSSB for supporting breastfeeding at work. Patriarchal culture and pervasive gender-based violence in South Africa compromises mothers’ access to FSSB, while historical socio-spatial inequalities endemic in the public education sector limits the viability of all dimensions of FSSB to improve breastfeeding at work. The study findings have implications for the application of FSSB in diverse geographical, socio-cultural, and economic contexts.