Youth unemployment fuels GBFV, worsens 'sugardaddy' crisis

SOUTH Africa's reported 62.4% youth unemployment rate has made young women vulnerable to gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and psychosis due to substance abuse as a result of transactional sex borne out of limited employment opportunities.

- SIYABONGA SITHOLE

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.