Abstract
M.A. (Clinical Social Work)
Gender based violence is a critical social issue, not only in South Africa, but in the
rest of the world. What social workers think, know and do not know about gender based
violence will impact on how they deal with this social issue. This dissertation presents
findings from research on the perceptions of student social workers regarding gender
based violence. There is scant research on whether social workers are adequately
prepared to intervene in gender based violence and how they perceive the issue. This
research presents the findings of interviews and a focus group that were conducted with
student social workers who are in the final year of their studies. The research focused on
two main questions: the perceptions of social work students of gender based violence and
how they would intervene with victims and perpetrators. It became evident from the results
of this study that student social workers know about gender based violence and to some
extend understand its complexities. However, the participants felt less prepared to
intervene on gender based violence especially within the macro level of social work
practice.