To rattle the cage and move beyond scriptures, the new interfaith strategy to end gender-based violence and femicide calls for champions in every community and the elevation of survivor voices, writes Bhekisisa Mncube.

Trigger warning

My domestic worker Christina of a year is a battered woman. I become aware of her reality by accident. Months ago, she missed work, explaining she had visited the clinic. Upon her return, she spoke of a kidney ailment, stating that the clinic had informed her that her kidneys were malfunctioning and that she may require a replacement. This story struck me as peculiar – an initial red flag. Clinics, especially at the primary healthcare level, lack the resources to diagnose kidney function without essential, more invasive procedures, such as blood tests, ultrasound, or CT scans. None of these tests are typically available at clinics in low-income areas such as Moloto in Mpumalanga province, making her diagnosis unlikely.

Weeks later, she arrived at work with the classic injury of a battered woman – the "black eyes" syndrome. She had bruising on both eyes, indicating a direct punch or blunt force trauma. These bruises were fresh and visible to the naked eye. This was red flag number two. I panicked and had a sit-down with my wife, discussing our Christina’s situation without her. We concluded that we had to do something; first things first, we needed to speak to her and get the whole story.

I told her the same day, "We need to talk." I sensed her unease immediately. We sat down in the television room, and before I could broach the subject, she was already sniffling, holding back tears. I cried just writing this sentence as I recall the fear I witnessed in her eyes. I began by affirming her as a diligent worker inclined to goodness. She is a workhorse capable of satisfying two neat freaks, my wife being on the extreme side. She is a humble and good person; upon receiving her first meagre paycheck from us – she only works two days a week– she told my wife how it "changed her life" as she could buy necessities for her children.

I then went for the jugular, explaining that her stories about her sickness and injuries didn't add up. I was at pains to explain that employer-employee relationships are based on trust. Her sniffles became a torrent of tears. Between sobs, she told me her full sordid story. Her boyfriend was responsible for the bruises and the pain around her kidneys, and she confessed it had started a long time ago. The motive is also a classic case of toxic masculinity; Christina owns a spacious house – architecturally designed and professionally built, initially with four rooms sponsored by another employer. With blood, sweat, and tears, she used her meagre pay to extend it into an eight-room house. She told me her boyfriend wanted to claim ownership of the house so he could be the metaphorical “head of the household” – another unearned privilege fuelling gender injustice. He felt, in my view, his masculinity was emasculated by his lack of property ownership. Yet, in another case of privilege and entitlement, he thought it best to take, wilfully and unlawfully, what didn’t belong to him – wait for it – because he is the man.

With the community's support, we can make a difference. After I obtained permission from her, I jolted everyone into action using my privilege of access to those with power. I wrote to the Mpumalanga Provincial Government's Director-General, and although he was on leave, he escalated the matter to Social Development MEC and the police. Within 48 hours, the local police arrived at my Christina’s house in an unmarked police vehicle, armed with several previously sought but unexecuted protection orders and two uninvestigated assault cases. He was ordered to pack all his belongings and never returned to that house. He and his possessions were bundled into the police car, disappearing with him. Social workers are still assisting her to deal with the trauma.

Inexplicably, the man has yet to be arrested. However, Christina now lives peacefully in her own home, thanks to a whole-of-government approach as referenced in the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NSP GBVF).

Therefore, the recent launch of the first-ever Interfaith Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Mitigation Strategy 2024–2030, which aims to broaden the scope while affirming the government's overarching strategy, should indeed be amplified by moral authorities in all spheres of power. The interfaith community has decided to take a systematic approach, focusing on:

• Transforming Harmful Norms: Addressing and challenging the cultural, social, and religious norms that enable GBV.
• Movement-Building and Advocacy: Strengthening partnerships and networks to amplify the impact of faith communities in GBV prevention
• Localising Efforts and Impact: Working closely with local partners to build safe faith communities that actively prevent and respond to GBV.

If we are to truly “rattle the cage” and move the needle, we need action, not words. The whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach must be operationalised, and every citizen in every sector, should understand their responsibilities within the strategies to end GBV and femicide as well as the obligations imposed by recent amendments to pertinent laws tackling this scourge. The case study of Christina provides a clear example, but we need more. We must organise ourselves as communities and educate those in power – particularly politicians and faith/traditional leaders/healers – to unlearn harmful biblical norms and cultural practices, and address stereotypes that demean women, the LGBTQI+ community and anyone else who does not ‘make the grade’. The interfaith sector must put an end to spiritual abuse cloaked in biblical texts. Instead, places of worship such as cathedrals, chapels, temples, mosques, synagogues, monasteries, and Indumba (traditional healers’ rooms) should serve as sanctuaries for survivors, offering psychosocial support, pastoral care, and advocating for gender justice rather than expecting survivors to bekezela (suck it up and be patient).

The interfaith strategy also calls for reimagined restorative justice, where accountability takes precedence over treating the bedroom as a private sphere immune from scrutiny. The need for traditional leaders/healers and pastors to abandon cultural practices and misuse of sacred texts that subjugate women cannot be overstated. We must say enough and no more. We should reach a point where local leaders – be it the Inkosi, councillor, pastor, or civil society representatives – are trustworthy to act decisively in the best interests of survivors. Every woman, child, or member of the LGBTQI+ community should know their "911" in cases of emergency, and these should be moral authorities at the community level.

At the launch of the interfaith strategy, Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Steve Mmapaseka Letsike, questioned the logic – or rather the norm – that in cases of intimate partner violence, it is often the survivors (usually women) who are forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in shelters, while perpetrators remain secure in comfort. Letsike also highlighted the injustice of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education spending R21-million paying the salaries of teachers suspended for alleged sexual offences. She argued that we are, in effect, paying perpetrators to perpetuate the cycle of abuse while the justice system grinds slowly. There many Christinas out there whose stories will remain buried within the four walls. As a society, let’s take a leaf out of the interfaith movement and join hands to break the silence on gender based violence.

Mncube is an author and columnist who won the national 2024 Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Award for columns/editorials, as well as the same category at the regional 2020 Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards. 

For further information on the Interfaith GBV Strategy 2030 or to join the movement through the Faith Action Collective to End GBV, please contact coordinator@wwsosa.org.za or communication@wwsosa.org.za, call 0724537502 or WhatsApp 0845810622