The GendV Project

Philiswa Lila, ENKUNDLENI/poured healing, 2023, The Melrose Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

Philiswa Lila Artist-in-Residence

Philiswa Lila: Recent work ENKUNDLENI/Poured Healing: 2023, live performance stills The Melrose Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa Philiswa Lila - artist-in-residency at The GendV Project, has collaborated with ivukuvuku (born Chumani Mantanga), creating art installations and performances since...

These Dry Bones Live: South Africa’s Foundation of Sexual Violence by Athinangamso Nkopo

It may seem odd for an inquiry about current endemic sexual violence to do research in the archive going as far back as the 16th and 17th century. How can sifting through documents under themes such as gendered violence, race and gender structures shed light on our harrowing status quo? It seems...

Furnace by Dr Poonam Tushamad

Written by Dr Poonam Tushamad, a Dalit-feminist writer, poet, academic and activist who currently teaches at BR Ambedkar College, University of Delhi. She is the author of several publications including the books ‘Madaari’ (2019) and ‘Hindi Dalit Sahitya Mein Jantantrik Mulya : Ek Adhyayan’ (2022...

Field Reflections by Tumi Mampane

Field Reflections by Tumi Mampane When I began my work as a research assistant for the GendV project I had no illusions about it being easy, not even as a person who is deeply embedded in Alexandra Township—its life, culture, and people. It can never be easy to tackle the issue of violence. So, I...

My Life Our Stories Johannesburg

My Life Our Stories is a creative platform for story sharing and community engagement. We invite you to explore the pages where we hope you will find things that interest you and make you think about the lives of the diverse inhabitants and the city of Joburg itself.

Sanjay Srivastava: Burning of Thunberg’s images are symbolic warnings of possible fate that awaits woman seen as ‘too independent’

18 February 2021

Prof Sanjay Srivastava writes for the Indian Express , ' The symbolic burning of public women also represents rising masculine anxiety regarding women who are seen to be independent and willing to engage in public debates.' Read the full article here. (Illustration by C R Sasikumar).

Watch here

Watch Lisa Vetten speak about Gendered Violence in South Africa

Lisa Vetten is an activist, counsellor, para-legal and researcher with extensive experience in the field of violence against women. Lisa is also The GendV Project's Impact Consultant. Watch her speak on eNCA about the complexity of gender-based violence, and the public response to it.

Read the full interview here

The GendV Project's Shannon Philip speaks about Sexism and Masculinity on shethepeople.tv

'What does it mean to be a man, say to a teen boy? Or to a young man in his early twenties, out to prove his worth and earn peer respect? The recent Bois Locker Room has put this subject back into focus: that of toxic masculinity and how it impacts young men. And how stereotyping of male behaviour triggers a different male...

Project Updates

Local artists interpret research on GBV in exhibition: Sunday World

11 December 2022

"Academic research, art and dialogue come together in a study on gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa and India, with local artist Philiswa Lila tasked with interpreting it in an exhibition. The research known as the GendV Project – which is headed by the University of Cambridge in collaboration with the University...

GendV Artist Philiswa Lila named on the Mail & Guardian's "Top 200 Young South Africans List 2022"

30 August 2022

Philiswa Lila has been named as one of the Mail & Guardian's "Top 200 Young South Africans List 2022", for her work as a Visual Artist and Storyteller. The Mail & Guardian writes; 'Lila is a visual artist and storyteller. She is influenced by the nuances of memory, brought about by the sensory explorations of...

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Media News

Hubballi murder: Case, at its core, is about male mentality & normalised violence in Indian society

25 April 2024

Article written by GendV's Taanya Kapoor and Edex, Indian Express. Read the article online here. "Neha Hiremath, a 23-year-old student of BVB College, Hubballi was murdered by jilted lover Fayaz Khondunaik on Thursday, April 18. Almost immediately, "love jihad" started trending on Twitter. A rejected lover resorting to...

The Hindustan Times: Fear of unsafe public spaces erodes women’s autonomy

27 January 2024

"Only 14% of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence have sought help and 77% have kept their suffering to themselves, according to the National Family Health Survey-5. Despite the silence on these forms of violence that occur at home or work, post the 2012 Delhi gang rape, attention has been fixed on public...

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What is The GendV Project?

The GendV Project is an ESRC-funded Research Project exploring Urban Transformation and Gendered Violence in Delhi, India and Johannesburg, South Africa. It is based in the Department of Sociology at The University of Cambridge, and is led by Principle Investigator Dr Manali Desai.