How South Africa's youth unemployment fuels sexual exploitation and gender-based violence among young women
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Gender-based violence (GBV) is a serious concern in South Africa, especially for university students.
Image: Supplied
South Africa's youth unemployment rate, reported at 62.4%, has heightened the vulnerability of young women to gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).
This alarming statistic is closely tied to rising rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and psychosis, often driven by substance abuse linked to transactional sex resulting from limited employment opportunities.
This is according to the National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA), following a study presented by Clinical Psychologist Sibongile Sibanyoni, which revealed shocking evidence that economic hardship, gender inequality, and social media trends are driving the "blesser/blessee" relationships between older men and young women and girls in South Africa.
While politicians and some in the private sector ponder the country's economic hardships due to high levels of unemployment, NSMSA National Coordinator, Anisa Moosa, stated: 'Our biggest concern about these blesser/blessee relationships is their contribution to gender-based violence. The dependency of a young girl on a grown man is dangerous, not only for her physical well-being but psychologically too.'
Early this month, the Quarter 1 2025 quarterly Labour Force Survey from Statistics South Africa reported that youth unemployment has risen by over 10 percentage points in the last 10 years, indicating that young people aged 15-34 face an unemployment burden of 46.1%, which has gone up from 36.9% recorded in 2015.
This comes as Capitec CEO Gerrie Fourie recently courted controversy when he said that the country's unemployment rate, which was 32.9% for the first quarter, would be closer to 10% if self-employed people and those working in informal markets were counted.
Last month, Sibanyoni, who presented her research findings in a webinar hosted by the NSMSA, indicated that 82.8% of young African women in impoverished areas were engaging in sexual relationships with older men, adding that there is reliable evidence of psychological impact on some of them.
Her findings are also backed by a 2017 Wits University study by Oncemore Mbeve, a doctoral researcher in the African Centre for Migration and Society whose study, titled, "Understanding transactional sex among young women in South Africa: a study based in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga provinces", linked transactional sex with limited economic opportunities among women in South Africa and other parts of the continent.
"Transactional sex in young women in Sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa, is rife, and financial constraints are a major driver. Quantitative studies conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa suggest that young women who are involved in transactional sex are nearly two or more than three times vulnerable to HIV. The young women are involved in transactional sex with older men to access financial needs for survival as well as for purposes of consumerism."
Sibanyoni's study also uncovered that there is a common thread of early relationships with absent or unreliable caregivers that influences an individual's ability to form and maintain emotional bonds in adulthood.
The lack of financial dependability on caregivers causes the young women to develop a dependency and need for security.
Reacting to the insights from the NSMSA and Sibanyoni's findings, Siyabulela Monakali, spokesperson for Ilitha Labantu, an anti-GBVF movement, confirmed a "devastating and heartbreaking" link between high levels of youth unemployment and transactional sex.
Monakali stated that this has made the situation unbearable for women and young girls.
"South Africa's youth unemployment rate, currently at an alarming 63.9%, according to Stats SA, creates a harsh reality for many young women and girls, especially in townships and vulnerable communities. Without access to economic opportunities, they often face the impossible choice of relying on transactional sexual relationships to meet their basic needs.
"What is deeply troubling is that perpetrators are fully aware of this vulnerability. They exploit young women's desperate situations, using their economic power to control and manipulate them. This is not a matter of choice or agency. It is a reflection of systemic failure to provide the economic and social safety nets that young women deserve," he said.
Sibanyoni indicated that her research was influenced by social media trends amid the rise of the blesser culture over the last few years.
"I was also intrigued by the use of the hashtag #blessed on social media platforms such as X and Facebook. I began to wonder who was 'blessing' the lifestyles of these young women. When I discovered that 'blessers' were financing or 'blessing' young women, I became curious about the psychological effects of these intergenerational sexual relationships (blesser-blessee relationships). This curiosity drove me to explore the phenomenon more deeply and gain a comprehensive understanding of its impact."
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