NMNW launched a research and innovation ‘Hub’ in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), South Africa in 2020, which subsequently incorporated into it’s own entity registered as No Means No South Africa. In addition to providing important sexual violence prevention programming to young people in one of the hardest hit regions of South Africa, the No Means No South Africa team is focused on innovation and management of longitudinal research that will examine the long-term impact and cost-effectiveness of No Means No and inform ongoing improvements to our programs. The No Means No South Africa team will innovate and test new delivery models designed to strengthen our curriculum and training systems.  

Our team are delivering No Means No across the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and are educating thousands of students each year. We are also working with leading researchers from Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and local institutions to design and carry out mixed methods research designed to measure the longer-term impact of the program, to examine variations in curriculum dosage and training modalities, to compare the single vs. dual gender approach, and to further analyze the cost effectiveness of our model over time. We hope and expect that No Means No South Africa will serve as both a programmatic flagship site, and will generate and disseminate important research that will inform best practice in the field of sexual violence prevention.

Why Gqeberha, South Africa?

South Africa has some of the highest rates of sexual violence in the entire world and the government has made firm commitments to addressing the problem. In 2019, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa proclaimed: “There is a dark and heavy shadow across our land. Women and children are under siege. South Africa is one of the most unsafe places in the world to be a woman.” 

The Eastern Cape Province, and the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan municipality, where Gqeberha is located, have particularly high rates of sexual violence. Between April 2019 - March 2020 there were 8,708 sexual crimes in the Province (SA Police Service Crime Statistics), while in 2013 the municipality had a rate of 242 sexual crimes per 100,00 people (ECSECC,2014), double the rate for all of South Africa. To learn more about the challenges that young people face in Gqeberha related to sexual violence you can also watch this documentary

As No Means No Director of Programs Patience Mwungwari states, “Gqeberha is the ideal location for No Means No South Africa due to these extremely high rates of sexual violence, the presence of strong partners offering complimentary services, and the opportunity to partner with the local government to conduct in-depth longitudinal research.”