Can a workplace claim to take gender-based violence seriously if employees are still too afraid to report it?
In this episode of Voices Of Change, Heidi Giokos speaks to Matla A Bana Trustee and GBV expert Prof Corné Davis-Buitendag about GBV in South Africa, workplace silence, institutional responsibility and the difference between having a policy and creating genuine safety.
The conversation examines:
• Why emotional, verbal, financial and psychological abuse are often overlooked • How gender stereotypes and family environments can normalise harmful behaviour • Why boys and men also need spaces for healthy emotional expression • Concerns about children’s exposure to pornography and younger perpetrators • What government budgets reveal about leadership priorities • What employees need from workplace wellbeing programmes • Why survivors may fear job loss, legal processes and secondary harm • Why sexual-harassment policies do not automatically reduce harassment • Whether anonymous platforms can provide safer routes to support • Why more courts cannot solve cases that are never reported • How stigma can make survivors fear being seen as damaged • What bystanders should do when they witness abuse
This is a conversation about systems, not slogans.
Watch the full episode for a survivor-centred and accountability-focused discussion about what meaningful action against gender-based violence must look like in South Africa.
The transcript supports this progression from hidden abuse and socialisation through workplace systems, underreporting and collective action.
Catch up on all Voices of Change episodes here: https://www.enca.com/voices-change-podcast
Chapter List
(00:00) GBV As A Sustainability Test
(00:47) GBV Beyond Physical Violence
(01:22) Why Verbal Abuse Is Minimized
(02:19) Men, Boys And Psychological Harm
(02:47) How Violence Is Socialised
(04:14) South Africa’s Leadership Crisis
(04:45) What Budgets Reveal
(05:18) Why Programmes Miss The Ground
(06:07) Younger Perpetrators And Online Exposure
(06:38) Why The Response Is Not Working
(07:30) Stigma, Dependence And Silence
(08:03) Anonymous Support Platforms
(08:32) Workplace Fear And Reporting
(08:55) What Private-Sector Research Revealed
(09:48) Employee Wellbeing And GBV Support
(10:16) Why Policies Are Not Enough
(10:47) Why Survivors Still May Not Report
(12:10) From Silence To Reporting
(13:02) Reporting Child Abuse Years Later
(14:06) Abuse By Trusted People
(15:59) DNA And Evidence Failures
(16:53) Funding Projects That Work
(17:40) What Business Must Do Beyond Funding
(18:29) Will Specialised GBV Courts Help?
(18:55) The Underreporting Barrier
(19:21) Heidi On Speaking Publicly
(20:33) The Fear Of Being Seen As Damaged
(20:56) Survivors Are Not Damaged
(22:48) GBV Influencers And Public Conversation
(24:38) Partnership And Honest Testimony
(27:39) “What Will Other People Say?”
(28:31) What Measurable Change Looks Like
(29:26) Bystander Responsibility
(30:11) If You See It, Say Something
(30:28) Systems, Not Slogans
