False rape allegations in South Africa: Unveiling gendered power dynamics and the silent crisis of GBV against Black men by women in Gauteng

Abstract

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a central concern in post-apartheid South Africa, with public discourse and policy focusing primarily on violence against women. However, false rape allegations, particularly those made against Black men, remain largely silenced and under-researched. This dissertation examines how false rape allegations against Black men in Gauteng operate within intersecting systems of race, gender, class, power, and colonial history. It argues that such allegations cannot be understood as isolated incidents, but as social and moral practices shaped by enduring colonial and patriarchal structures. The study is informed by a critical and decolonial theoretical framework drawing on Foucault’s concepts of power and discipline, Raewyn Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity, Crenshaw’s intersectionality, and decolonial scholarship on the colonial matrix of power. A mixed-methods research design was employed. Data was collected through an online survey of individuals aged 18 years and older in Gauteng Province, open to respondents of all genders, races, classes, and sexualities. A total of 298 responses were analysed using descriptive statistics and reflexive thematic analysis. The findings show that false rape allegations function as mechanisms of moral surveillance and social regulation, reinforced by racialised assumptions of Black male danger, hypersexuality, and criminality. Participants reported enduring stigma, reputational damage, psychological distress, and social exclusion, even where allegations were withdrawn or disproven. The study demonstrates that accusation itself operates as a form of disciplinary power that shapes behaviour, fear, and social belonging. The dissertation contributes to gender and decolonial scholarship by introducing the concept of the Coloniality of Accusations, which captures how colonial modes of control continue to structure credibility, belief, and justice in democratic South Africa. It calls for more balanced approaches to GBV that protect survivors while safeguarding the rights and dignity of the accused.