Five things you need to know from Human Science Research Council's first GBV report

The Human Science Research Council (HSRC) released its first-ever study on gender-based violence (GBV) in SA on Monday.

The HSRC study was sampled from more than 1,000 communities where both women and men aged 18 and above were randomly picked and interviewed.

About 10, 000 people participated in the survey, 5,600 women and 4,400 men.

Here are the key findings you need to know:

• About 77.6% of men, which translates to 14.5-million, experienced physical abuse before the age of 18, while 15,7% of them, which translates to just over 3-million,  experienced sexual abuse in their childhood.

•  About 4.0% of girls, which translates to 880,530, experienced sexual abuse before the age of 15 while 58%, translating to 11 996 096, experienced physical abuse before 15 years.

•  About 9,9% of men indicated that when a woman is raped, she is to be blamed for putting herself in that situation.

• Over 77% of men agreed with a statement of controlling behaviour such as  "I like to let her know she isn't the only partner I could have", and "When I want sex, I expect my partner to agree".

• About 42.5% of women living with disabilities, which translate to 722,857 women, have experienced sexual or physical abuse.

Minister of women, youth and persons with disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga said:

• "The findings should serve as a source of shame.

• "Recommendations of the study will contribute to our ongoing focus on prevention and protection for victims and ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable."

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