South Africa: Introducing The GenG Engage App - Empowering Communities With A Zero-Rated App To End Gender Based Violence

Sonke Gender Justice/Supplied
Introducing the GenG Engage App - Empowering communities with a zero-rated app to end Gender based violence.
14 April 2025
Sonke Gender Justice (Cape Town)

In a bold and groundbreaking step towards ending gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa, the Generation Gender programme, also known as GenG, officially launched a pioneering mobile application on 4th April 2025, designed to empower individuals, connect survivors to critical services, and strengthen the national response to GBVF. The Generation G South African Coalition comprises three partner organisations, namely, Sonke Gender Justice, ACTIVATE! Change Drivers, and Action Aid South Africa

The launch, which took place in Rosebank, Johannesburg, brought together young activists, civil society organisations, gender justice advocates, and others to witness a transformative moment in the efforts to create

Human-Centered Digital Tool for Justice

The newly launched GenG Engage is more than just an app, but it is a platform informed by the lived experiences of survivors of gender-based violence and that of young people. This app was developed through a human-centered design approach, which means it was done through a participatory process with youth and community members. At the predevelopment phase, the Generation Gender team consulted with young people from KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and Eastern Cape to help guide the process and make sure that the diverse voices are incorporated into the app. The app provides access to resources such as the National Strategic Plan on Gender-based Violence and Femicide, including a case monitoring platform and additional educationalresources aimed at prevention and awareness.

The Access to Information component provides users with a repository of information and education materials such as policies, position papers, reports, guidelines, and toolkits, among other resources.

The Gen G Engage component is an interactive community forum where users can engage in discussions, contribute to polls, and stay updated on trending topics. The platform will enhance collaboration between partners and communities in different parts of South Africa.

“The GenG Engage app is for community benefit and upliftment. The more community-based organisations use this app, the more we shall be able to track service delivery on issues of GBV. It is a means to hold duty bearers accountable. In addition, the platform creates an easy way for youth to engage with one another and plan events not necessarily linked to GBV but having an impact on the communities they come from.” Sonke Gender Justice’s Policy Development and Advocacy Specialist, Namuma Mulindi.

South Africa has a high level of underreporting when it comes to GBVF cases. This is due to systematic challenges, including a lack of response by the police to assist survivors of GBVF and a lack of collaboration between various sectors of government departments that should be working together to assist survivors and secondary victims. Despite the existing GBVF legislation in the country, state actors have been slow and apathetic in addressing GBVF. Moreover, there is a lack of awareness of available services by community members, activists, and civil society organisations.

South Africa’s recent crime statisticsrevealed that crimes against women and children had skyrocketed to 961 murders and 1,661 attempted murders reported. Additionally, 11,803 rape cases were reported countrywide. It is evident that addressing GBVF demands a multi-layered approach.

Currently, gender advocates, activists, or human rights defenders receive a lot of requests for support on GBV cases, and often the assistance required relates to bottlenecks in the criminal justice system. Often activists providing support to survivors have followed due process in opening cases, but these cases stall at the South African Police Services, in court, or are withdrawn altogether with a lack of sufficient explanation or justification. While activists and survivors often understand the full story behind the cases they bring forward, they may not always have the specific details needed to offer effective support or to hold state actors within the criminal justice system accountable.

The Case Monitoring tool on the app will enable those using it to collect details that keep track of the SAPS case number, the court in which the matter is being heard, the number of postponements, and the reasons given for the postponements. The app will also enable us to track the efficiency of the Thuthuzela Care Centres

“The reports will help us showcase the challenges of trying to access justice. The Gen G Engage app will be a digital community platform for collaboration, support and mobilization in the promotion of gender justice”, Sakhile Zungu, Programme Manager at ActionAid South Africa.

The app will allow activists to host webinars and roundtable discussions that are accessible to all and post conversations that are live. Access to information, a resources tab, and education materials such as guidelines on how to report cases, GBVF policy position papers, policy submissions, and toolkits on youth participation within communities and structures of power.

Looking Forward

As GBVF continues to devastate communities across South Africa, digital innovations like the GenG Engage App offer opportunities to close the gaps in response and prevention. The launch marks a pivotal moment in the journey to ending gender-based violence, not just through policy but through a human-centred approach and using technology that serves justice.

“South Africa's youth represent largely untapped potential to address pressing social challenges facing us today, including the challenge of gender-based violence and femicide. Social media platforms are increasingly becoming important tools in amplifying the voice of young people in responding to the challenge of GBVF as they can empower them to share information and resources and raise awareness about issues they are faced with,” Rammolotsi Sothoane, Special Projects Manager at ACTIVATE! Change Drivers

Generation Gender South Africa calls on all stakeholders—youth, government, civil society, and the private sector—to join in promoting the app, supporting its continuous development, and ensuring that every survivor, in every corner of the country, has access to safety, support, and dignity.

Download the GenG Engage App today— on your Play or App Store— and be part of the movement for gender justice.

Generation Gender is a global consortium of organisations working in seven (7) countries, namely, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, Rwanda, Uganda, Indonesia, and South Africa, in creating a gender-just & violence-free society for and with young people in their full diversity. The Generation G South African Coalition comprises three partner organisations, namely, Sonke Gender Justice, ACTIVATE! Change Drivers, and Action Aid South Africa, who are responsible for advancing the aims of the Generation G Programme in South Africa.

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