According to the South African Medical Research Council, In 2024, an average of seven women were killed each day in South Africa, with six out of ten murdered by their intimate partners. For faith-based communities, this is not just a statistic. It is a mirror. One that reflects silence, complicity, and the urgent need for change from within.
A crisis within our congregations
Daniela Gennrich, the coordinator of We Will Speak Out South Africa (WWSOSA), speaks for many people of faith who find themselves grappling with this painful reality. “Many people of faith are really struggling with what has been going on. Many of us are ourselves survivors of gender-based violence at different points in our lives,” she says.
Gennrich’s words reflect the exhaustion and urgency carried by those who know that this crisis is happening on their watch. Gender-based violence in South Africa is not new. What is new is the growing pressure on religious institutions to take responsibility not only in responding to survivors, but in recognising how patriarchal interpretations of faith have helped normalise the violence.
“Many leaders are still locked into belief systems that regard women as inferior and interpret our sacred texts in ways that create fertile ground for gender-based violence,” Gennrich explains.
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Unlearning harmful masculinity
The question is not just why men become violent, but how the spaces they grow up in, including religious ones, fail to challenge harmful masculinities. “Nobody is born a murderer or a rapist. So what happens to men that they become that way? What happens to the women who raised them, many of whom are also survivors of violence?”
For the past three years, WWSOSA, together with the Faith Action Collective, has been developing a faith-based strategy to prevent and respond to GBV. The strategy is informed by eight different religious traditions and includes the voices of survivors. It focuses on healing, self-reflection, and transforming how faith leaders use their influence.
“Even if we try to believe that we are set apart, we are also human. And our institutions, unfortunately, are also human,” says Gennrich.
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Sacred silence is not safety
In a country where the majority of the population identify with a religion, the failure of faith leaders to speak out or act decisively has real consequences. “Our society seems to have lost its sense of values, its sense of direction. There is so much woundedness,” Gennrich reflects.
Those wounds run deep. Abuse cases involving respected community leaders have left many questioning how such harm could flourish in spaces meant for healing. “We need to look inside ourselves and ask what it is in our teachings and the ways we operate that allow this to continue.”
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From awareness to action
Awareness alone is not enough. “We run workshops and training programmes not just about raising awareness — we all know how bad the situation is — but about developing the skills and knowledge to intervene constructively, with compassion, and in ways that actually bring healing and restoration.”
There is resistance, especially from leadership that fears change. But there is also progress. “It has been a lot easier working with scholars, activists, and survivors in our faith communities than it has been to work with senior leaders,” Gennrich admits.
Part of the work involves challenging dominant ideas of masculinity that are built on control rather than care. “Often these ways of being have turned into destructive norms that have been normalised in some faith settings.”
But things can change. And that change begins not only in pulpits, but around dinner tables and WhatsApp groups. “We start in our individual relationships. How are we relating in love, peace, and mutuality with our partners, children, friends, colleagues, and those who work with us?”
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Building safe communities of faith
A key focus of WWSOSA is shifting from passive to active bystanderism. “People need to know how to respond without causing more harm. That is often why leaders hesitate. They are unsure of what to say or do.”
Digital tools and communities of practice are bridging gaps and opening space for honest conversation. “One of our big challenges is the lack of funding, but we are working with our faith groups to see how we can still influence the narrative, especially online.”
There is no quick fix. Culture, class, trauma, and faith all intersect. Still, Gennrich believes change is possible. “Yes, government has a role to play, but in a sense, we are it. We are the ones who are survivors, and we are the ones who are part of the solution.”
What can you do?
If you are reading this and wondering where to begin, start with your circle. Question the jokes you laugh at, the sermons you stay silent through, or the pain you overlook.
“We need to reflect on what it is in our faith communities that is not speaking strongly enough, that is not offering an alternative, that is not providing safe spaces for survivors.”
To connect with We Will Speak Out South Africa, visit their website : https://www.wwsosa.org.za/
And for more on this, watch the video below:
Image: WWSO website
