How AI may strengthen SA’s fight against GBV

When Anathi Entle pressed “record”, she was not chasing attention; she was pleading for her safety. Crying and visibly distressed, she begged her boyfriend not to hurt her and not to lock her inside their home.

The video, later shared on her Facebook page, captures a moment of raw fear, and is a chilling reminder of how violence against women in South Africa often unfolds behind closed doors, long before it ends in a mortuary.

In the video, Entle can be heard pleading with her boyfriend as he asserts control over her movements and body. At one point, he humiliates her verbally and coerces her into degrading behaviour, even as she remains visibly frightened. The footage has since circulated widely on social media, triggering outrage and painful recognition among South Africans who say they have seen this story before.

It is not an isolated incident.

South Africa continues to record one of the highest rates of gender-based violence and femicide in the world. On average, a woman is killed every three hours, most often by someone she knows. Violence is frequently preceded by emotional abuse, coercion and confinement, patterns that experts say are clear warning signs of escalating harm.

AI can be a powerful resource for strengthening national efforts to stop GBV, but only if it is implemented ethically, inclusively and with proper funding.

—  Dr Itai Makone, Stellenbosch University’s Policy Innovation Lab

According to the First South African National Gender-Based Violence Study conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council, the scale of violence is staggering. Between July and September 2024, 957 women were murdered, 1,567 survived attempted murders, 14,366 suffered assaults resulting in grievous bodily harm, and 10,191 rapes were reported. Researchers warn that these figures likely underrepresent the true extent of the crisis, as many survivors never report abuse.

The severity of the crisis prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa last year to declare gender-based violence and femicide a national disaster, an extraordinary move acknowledging the state’s failure to protect women and children.

Against this backdrop, Stellenbosch University’s FemAI Policy Playbook has emerged as an attempt to confront the crisis not just with condemnation, but with systemic reform.

Developed through the South African FemAI In-Country Lab, the Playbook brings together political leaders, women entrepreneurs, academics and civil society organisations to explore how AI can be used to strengthen prevention, reporting and accountability in GBV cases.

Dr Itai Makone, lead author of the Playbook from Stellenbosch University’s Policy Innovation Lab, said the initiative, developed in collaboration with Women Political Leaders and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, aims to turn political commitments into measurable action.

“This initiative forms part of a broader effort across selected African countries to advance AI-informed policymaking and elevate women’s leadership,” Makone said.

“AI can be a powerful resource for strengthening national efforts to stop GBV, but only if it is implemented ethically, inclusively and with proper funding.”

The Playbook was first presented to MPs and sector stakeholders at the G20 Social Summit in Johannesburg, where legislators welcomed its recommendations but warned of practical obstacles.

Prof Willem Fourie, who leads the Policy Innovation Lab, said discussions revealed a familiar problem.

“There was broad agreement that policy remains largely symbolic without financial backing. Stakeholders also stressed the urgent need to break down silos between government departments so that data, resources, and survivor support are co-ordinated,” he said.

The Playbook proposes using AI to integrate data across policing, health care and the justice system, allowing cases to be tracked without forcing survivors to repeatedly relive their trauma. It also emphasises inclusive data, capacity building for front-line workers, and long-term budgeting to ensure that technological solutions do not collapse once pilot funding ends.

For Entle, the policy conversations come after years of silent suffering.

Now pregnant, she says she endured abuse from her boyfriend from the time she was seven weeks into her pregnancy. Over time, she said, the violence became normal, woven into her daily life.

“I stayed because it became my reality,” she said. “But enough was enough.”

Her video has since become both evidence and a warning: that behind South Africa’s statistics are women who cry, plead, comply and too often disappear.