Intimate partner violence in South Africa’s urban informal settlements
Join us to hear from Dr Andrew Gibbs on relationship conflict and intimate partner violence in informal settlements in eThekwini Municipality, South Africa.
For the second event in our Gender Violence & Health Centre (GVHC) Webinar Series at LSHTM, we will be joined by Dr Andrew Gibbs, Senior Lecturer at University of Exeter.
Dr Gibbs will be discussing his research on the influence of community context on intimate partner violence among young people living in informal settings within eThekwini Municipality, South Africa.
Urban informal settlements face some of the highest rates of intimate partner violence, yet the community forces shaping young people’s relationships remain underexplored. This webinar will share findings from an in-depth qualitative study with young women and men (18–30), community stakeholders, and a Young People’s Advisory Group in eThekwini Municipality, South Africa. Drawing on interviews and participatory methods, the research unpacks how stigma, material hardship, and strained social ties intersect to fuel relationship conflict and violence. Dr Biggs will discuss the effect of how negative stereotypes of young women and men, unemployment and insecure housing, limited emotional support networks, and perceptions of government neglect shape intimacy, dependency, and insecurity. The session will consider what these insights mean for designing effective, community-level interventions, highlighting the need to address gender norms and improve the material conditions of young people’s lives.
The GVHC Webinar Series will examine gender-based violence through insights drawn from global and UK-based research. Across the upcoming talks, speakers will share evidence and perspectives that deepen understanding of violence and inform more effective prevention and response approaches.
Speaker
Dr Andrew Gibbs
Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, University of Exeter
Dr Gibbs also holds honorary posts at the Gender and Health Research Unit at the Medical Research Council, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for Rural Health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Institute for Global Health, University College London. Prior to 2022 he lived and worked for over 12 years in South Africa. His main focus of research has been on addressing violence against women and girls, particularly understanding processes of change of interventions and engaging men and boys. He has worked on projects funded by UKRI, FCDO, UNAIDS, UNDP and continues to work closely with local NGOs.
Event notices
- Please note this event is virtual only
- Please note that the recording link will be listed on this page when available
Admission
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