Colonialism, xenophobia and SGBV — SA must reclaim ubuntu

Both gender-based and xenophobic violence have a deep-rooted legacy in South Africa’s colonial past, which imposed hierarchical racial systems that portrayed especially Black African women as non-human.

Angeline Stephens, PhD, is a psychologist in private practice, focusing on the intersections of trauma, violence, identity, gender and sexuality. Guided by feminist, intersectional, and decolonial frameworks, her therapeutic praxis centres on inclusive and affirming care. She also serves as the Chair of the Sexuality and Gender Division of the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA).

As I reflect on the ongoing crisis of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against women and girls in South Africa, my mind is occupied with visceral images of women – mothers, caregivers, community nurturers – sitting displaced on dirty pavements, their children and babies huddled close by, looking forlorn, fearful and bewildered.

These images formed part of the media coverage of the most recent wave of xenophobic violence sweeping across South Africa. I frame this opinion piece on violence against women and girls in South Africa within the broader context of localised xenophobic and border violence, as I ask: are these not acts of violence perpetrated against marginalised women and children?

The African Union (AU) adopted the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls in February 2025. This landmark, legally binding framework reflects a collective commitment across Africa to work towards the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls. The framework does well to include violence in digital spaces, in addition to private and public spaces.

Yet, as a continent and a nation, we continue to commit acts of violence that target women, girls, children and other marginalised groups, often in less explicit ways that go unnoticed. Thus, while recognising modern forms of violence is necessary, we must also be mindful of the historical roots of violence perpetrated against women and girls (children) in South Africa and indeed across the African continent.

Gender-based violence in South Africa and xenophobic violence both reflect troubling practices rooted in a legacy of coloniality, which imposed hierarchical racial and gendered systems and produced a matrix of power that constructs and positions women, especially Black African women, as non-human.

Being constructed as “outside” what it means to be human within a system built on socially constructed hierarchies enables the enactment of multiple forms of violence against women and those perceived as different. Women’s bodies become sites accessible to those with power, sites for cheap labour, and sites where violence and trauma become acceptable and normalised.