Leveraging practical theology in combating gender-based violence in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa’s pandemic level violence against women, particularly female interpersonal violence, profoundly marks Gender Based Violence (GBV) as a public health and human rights emergency. This crisis depicts a complex phenomenon that obligates a practical theological engagement to dismantle the socio-cultural, theological, and structural drivers underpinning GBV in South Africa. Framed in the biblical allegory of ‘healing bitter waters’, the study critically surveys how theological praxis, based on ecclesial involvement and contextual hermeneutics, may be deployed as an offset to ingrained patriarchal beliefs that underlie GBV. The study employs a desktop-based qualitative methodology to analyse contemporary literature, theological narratives, ecclesial practices, and policy frameworks. The Church is highlighted as a place of culpability and a potential location of transformative healing. The study argues that the Church needs to abandon its pastoral passivity and assume the lead in combating GBV, not as a docile actor, but a critical advocate for sociopolitical advocacy, liturgical reform, and life-affirming solutions to gendered oppression. Ultimately, it makes the case for a rearticulation of theological practice, a reimagined restorative practical theological paradigm that fosters dignity, healing, and accountability. Predicated on prophetic witness that contests detrimental gender norms, the study adds to the continuing effort to develop a Practical Theology that adeptly addresses androcentric interpretations of the Bible, contradicts narratives that spiritualise the repression of cries by victims, and defies GBV in all its manifestations.
Contribution: It proffers the Church’s ethical responsibility to be sensitive to the lived realities of survivors and embodies solidarity with the oppressed.