Abstract
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a persistent and wicked problem affecting every sphere of South African society, including higher education institutions (HEIs). Various stakeholders and literature consistently critique the South African government and institutions’ handling of GBV. Owing to a lack of capacity, resources, and commitment, current policies and practices regarding GBV within HEIs are limited. This is particularly the case for South African private HEIs, which cannot compete with the same resources and capacity available in public HEIs. The current literature indicates a dearth of research on the role of strategic communication and stakeholder engagement in addressing GBV in HEIs. In addition, there is a lack of research addressing GBV within the context of South African private HEIs. Against this backdrop, this research seeks to answer a pressing question: What role can strategic communication through multi-stakeholder engagement play in addressing gender-based violence at South African private higher education institutions?
The study used a concurrent mixed-methods research design and data collection by means of 13 semi-structured in-depth interviews with institutional representatives from eight South African private HEIs and two semi-structured in-depth interviews with subject matter experts on GBV and higher education, document analysis of GBV policies (where available), and an online survey with 446 students from the participating private HEIs. Qualitative data was analysed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis using Atlas.ti to code the data, while quantitative survey data was analysed using SPSS through descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis. The findings indicate gaps in GBV knowledge and perception among South African private HEIs’ stakeholders, which points to a failure to recognise strategic communication as the missing link to address GBV due to cultural and institutional barriers that aggravate GBV. Therefore, there is a need for comprehensive policies in private HEIs that advance the institutional culture of training and support required to address GBV. Hence, multi-stakeholder engagement in private HEIs is required to effectively and sustainably address GBV.