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Paper short abstract:

This paper reports results of two waves of data from a national survey of 3000 respondents, 2018 and 2022, on perceptions of gender equality, culture and GBV. Findings show a gender gap in women’s and men’s perceptions. “Keeping women in their place” may inform electoral violence against women.

Paper long abstract:

South Africa is currently a country facing a constitutional crisis. Political instability is brought on by a deepening energy crisis, the political elite’s involvement in corruption networks and state capture; and unprecedented levels of unemployment, crime and gender based violence. It is in this context that the 2024 national election will take place. In the last year assassinations of local government politicians have increased, especially if they were whistle blowers on government corruption. The ruling party, the ANC, has a 50% quota on a closed list PR system, which means that at least 50% of candidates for an election has to be women.

A 2017 report by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) states the following:

The killing and intimidation of councillors has also seen female councillors being frequently targeted as they are seen as easy targets...Women are already vulnerable in societies with high levels of violence

This paper will report the results of two waves of data from a national survey, done in 2018 and 2022, by Citizen Surveys and commissioned by the author. The aim of the surveys was to get a better understanding of attitudes that inform perceptions of gender equality, culture and gender based violence. The methodology used was a quantitative survey with a 3 000 respondent sample. The findings show a gender gap in women’s and men’s perceptions of gender stereotypes and cultural understandings of women’s roles. “Keeping women in their place” may inform electoral violence against women.