Explore Soul City's blog post, where they highlight their remarkable dedication to ending gender-based violence. Discover their innovative approaches and inspiring stories that are making a real difference in the VAW prevention ecosystem. Join us in celebrating these champions of change and learn how their efforts are helping build a safer, more just world for everyone.
DELIBERATE AND UNAPOLOGETIC ABOUT OUR FEMINIST AGENDA
Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) have been the centre of many reports in the recent past that highlights complex intersections of their vulnerability and risk due in part to limited access to HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services, and higher prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV), in particular statutory rape and rape.
The Soul City Institute for Social Justice is a 29 year-old South African NGO, recognised globally for its pioneering approach to social change. We promote social justice for women and girls in all their diversities, and their communities, as well as promote, support and amplify girls, young women and gender minorities’ feminist consciousness, voice, agency and activism. Our work spans across all nine provinces in South Africa and includes mass media campaigns, social mobilisation efforts, and policy advocacy, guided by the principles and values of human rights as well as an intersectional approach to ensure that nobody is left behind in the goal of eradicating poverty and ensuring equity and social justice for all.
In addition, policy barriers and negative attitudes of health workers, stigma and discrimination forces AGYW and gender minorities to remain hidden from many essential health interventions, further perpetuating their exclusion. Socio-economic factors expose AGYW to high-risk behaviours such as transactional and age disparate sex, increasing their likelihood of being victims of gender based violence in an environment with poor social support structures. It is for these reasons that we conduct advocacy work, ensuring we hold duty bearers accountable for the many failures in the different social and political systems that end up resulting in a young woman being pregnant, raped and abused.
Since 2014, we have been implementing RISE Clubs. The RISE programme targets vulnerable young women between the ages of 15 and 24 residing in informal settlements and rural areas in districts where HIV prevalence is known to be high. The RISE programme involves supporting young women to initiate and maintain RISE clubs in their communities. Once established, these clubs focus on sharing information and discussing SRHR issues, as well as other topics relating to their personal development and goals, undertaking community projects and interventions, and growing their talent whilst having fun. The clubs are supported by fieldworkers, who assist the clubs with any queries and challenges. Soul City also supports the clubs by organising district-level events that bring the girls from different clubs together.
The RISE Young Women’s Clubs programme seeks to build social cohesion, self-efficacy and resilience through: creating a space where young women can support each other, encouraging young women to work as a group to undertake projects in the community and, ultimately, preventing HIV, mitigating its impact and enabling safer choices. The programme addresses structural issues such as substance abuse and gender-based violence while creating an environment of positive peer learning and peer pressure.
By aligning our work with national and international frameworks, such as the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) and the Maputo Protocol, we have played a critical role in shifting harmful social norms, increasing knowledge around issues like HIV prevention, and influencing key policies and legislation. Our initiatives, such as the RISE Young Women and Girls Club and the Feminist Leadership and Activism Centre (FLAC) have empowered young women and girls, enhancing their feminist consciousness, voice, and agency.
Despite its successes, we face significant challenges in our work. One persistent issue is the entrenched patriarchal and gender-stereotyped thinking in South Africa, which continues to perpetuate misogyny and GBV. Our work is further complicated by the complex socio-economic and political environment, where poor implementation of existing laws and policies on gender equality and GBVF undermines progress. Additionally, the coordination among stakeholders addressing GBVF is often lacking, leading to gaps in support for women and girls, particularly those in marginalized communities.
Another challenge is the ongoing need to adapt to the evolving landscape of social justice work, particularly in the face of emerging issues such as the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and addressing intersectional experiences of oppression. We must continuously innovate and find new ways to engage diverse communities while ensuring that its interventions remain relevant and effective in a rapidly changing world.
Our organization’s commitment to feminist principles and social justice remains central to its efforts to overcome these challenges and continue driving meaningful change in South Africa and beyond.
The Soul City Institute has influenced social and behavioural change through our various programmes targeting adolescents and youth. 95% of former Soul Buddyz Club members say that being part of the programme has impacted positively on their lives. According to one Rise Young Women’s Club member, “They taught us about the types of contraceptives and how to avoid unwanted pregnancies. They taught us about the different types of condoms and different sexually transmitted diseases…We were also taught about teenage pregnancy. Everything was very helpful.”
To move from awareness to accountability, we must make sure that everyone, including the participants of our programmes, know that they have rights which are only enjoyed when we all act responsibly.