Knowledge, perceptions, beliefs, and opinions of the employees about GBV: a national online study in South Africa

BACKGROUND: GBV has been global public health, family, and social problem for several decades as it is expensive for society and the economy. The study was conducted to determine the possible differences in knowledge, perceptions, beliefs, and opinions about GBV, as a whole, across gender and employment sectors in South Africa. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using mixed-method design where we used an online survey with two open-ended questions. Perception about GBV Prevention among Employees (GBVPREV) questionnaire consisting of six Sect. (43 questions) was developed and tested. Cronbach’s alpha, Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), including Kaiser-Meyer Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy (KMO) and Bartlett’s test of Sphericity, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey HSD were used. Content analysis was used for analysing qualitative information from two open-ended questions. RESULTS: Among the 2 270 employees, more than half (68.1%) were females. Males were 677 (29.8%), and members of the LGBTQIAP + community were 32 (1.4%). There were statistically significant differences among males, females, and LGBTQIAP + on employee knowledge of adult experiences, employee knowledge of violence against children, employee perceptions, employee beliefs, and employee opinions and recommendations. The employees believe that all sectors of society should collaborate in addressing GBV in South Africa. They felt that victims should be encouraged to come forward, that society should be less judgemental, that stigma should be addressed and that there should be more empathy for victims. CONCLUSION: Most of the respondents, who were female and had tertiary education, were employed in the private sector, and were very aware of the prevalence of GBV in South Africa, agreed that support for both victims and perpetrators must be provided in private sector organizations. Even though it has been acknowledged for decades that gender inequality and GBV are reciprocal drivers, the persistence of both human rights violations will continue if all stakeholders do not collaborate. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12905-023-02704-6.