…as study records sharp decline in violence
…but exposes gaps in justice, shelters and psychosocial support
Makananelo Manamolela
G GENDER-BASED violence (GBV) has declined significantly in Lesotho over the past 12 years. Yet nine out of every 10 women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) still do not report it to police. And among those who had experienced IPV, 65.8 percent of women and 60.2 percent of men met the clinical threshold for depression. The figures expose persistent weaknesses in the country’s reporting, justice and survivor-support systems.
This is a key finding of the Lesotho Gender-Based Violence Follow-up Study, launched by the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Social Development in Maseru on Friday.
The study paints a mixed picture: while violence and harmful gender attitudes have declined substantially since 2013, the systems meant to protect survivors remain fragile, and the psychological scars of abuse remain widespread. The wide gap between the number of women experiencing violence and those who report it, secure an arrest or obtain a court outcome points to enduring weaknesses in the country’s response mechanisms.The nationally representative study surveyed 4,254 women and men aged 15 and above across all 10 districts, making it the most comprehensive GBV prevalence study undertaken in Lesotho. Researchers interviewed 2,565 women and 1,689 men. It was conducted by Gender Links Lesotho in collaboration with the Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Social Development, with funding from the European Union.
The findings show that lifetime GBV prevalence among women declined from 86 percent in 2013 to 66.7 percent in 2025. IPV also fell sharply, from 62 percent to 45.7 percent, while past-year IPV nearly halved, from 28 percent to 14.8 percent.
Yet even as prevalence has fallen, reporting and access to justice remain critically low. Among the small number of women who do report IPV to police, only 15.6 percent see an arrest, and fewer than two percent see any court outcome. Access to shelters is similarly limited, with fewer than two percent of survivors accessing such services and shelters available only in Maseru.
Gender Links Lesotho Director, Advocate Thakane Sello, said the findings showed that attitudes towards gender roles could shift at population level, but cautioned that the progress could not be celebrated while survivors continued to face major barriers to justice and support.
“While we are encouraged by the significant decline in GBV prevalence, we cannot celebrate the progress while survivors continue to face major barriers in accessing justice and support,” Sello said.
The study also recorded significant shifts in attitudes towards gender roles. Agreement that a woman should obey her husband fell from 97 percent among women and 96 percent among men in 2013, to 33.9 percent and 49.2 percent respectively in 2025.
The psychological toll of violence remains severe: the study found that 65.8 percent of women and 60.2 percent of men who had experienced IPV faced depression.
“The study also exposes deep structural failures. Nine in 10 women who experience IPV do not report it to the police. Of those who do, only 15.6% see an arrest and fewer than 2% see any court outcome. Fewer than 2% of survivors access shelters, which exist only in Maseru. Two-thirds of women IPV survivors (65.8%) and men (60.2%) meet the clinical threshold for depression.”
The study noted legislative progress since the first GBV prevalence study in 2013, including the enactment of the Counter Domestic Violence Act in 2022, which filled a legislative gap identified by that earlier research.
Speaking at the launch, European Union Head of Delegation, Ambassador Mette Sunnergren, called for stronger evidence-based action to prevent and respond to GBV. She said reliable gender data was critical to understanding the prevalence, drivers, patterns and lived experiences of gender-based violence.
“Reliable and detailed evidence enables institutions and development partners to identify priorities, allocate resources more effectively and assess whether interventions are producing meaningful results,” she said.
Sunnergren said the follow-up study was particularly significant because it gave Lesotho and its development partners an opportunity to update their understanding of GBV since the first study in 2013, and to respond to new and evolving risks, including emerging forms of violence such as technology-facilitated abuse.
She cautioned that the findings should not be treated as an endpoint but as a foundation for further action. “The evidence can help institutions and communities prepare for the full findings of the study while also guiding national dialogue on areas where action is most urgently required,” she said.
She stressed the importance of civil society organisations in service delivery, advocacy, governance, social accountability and community development, noting that the European Union was supporting such efforts in Lesotho through ongoing assistance amounting to €8.45 million, approximately M168.5 million.
“Our support focuses on youth grassroots organisations, social accountability, the protection of human rights – particularly the rights of women and children – and the fight against gender-based violence,” she said.
She emphasised that ending GBV and promoting gender equality required partnership between government, civil society, communities, international partners and women and girls themselves, and reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to supporting Lesotho in advancing gender equality, strengthening access to justice and building evidence-based responses to GBV.