Mmabatho Makotanyane: Giving survivors a voice and creating spaces for healing.

On image:  Journalist, Communications Professional, Women's Empowerment Advocate and Gender Studies Researcher, Mmabatho Makotanyane.

I must say that there are people who simply report on social issues, and then there are those who dedicate their lives to understanding them. Mmabatho Makotanyane belongs to the latter. As a journalist, communications professional, women's empowerment advocate and Gender Studies researcher, she has spent years creating spaces where women can heal, grow and rediscover their strength. While her academic research and public speaking often focus on survivors of gender-based violence, her empowerment work extends far beyond that, welcoming women from all walks of life who are navigating grief, divorce, childhood trauma, personal setbacks, and other life challenges.

Makotanyane's recent BA Honours research in Gender Studies explored the psychological effects of gender-based violence and why so many survivors turn to digital platforms when the people and institutions around them fail to offer support. It is research that is both academically grounded and deeply human.

Her interest in the subject didn't begin in a lecture hall. "As a women's empowerment activist, I kept seeing survivors carrying invisible wounds long after the physical injuries had healed," she explains. "I wanted to understand what trauma does to the mind and why healing is often so complicated."

For her, Gender Studies is far more than an academic discipline. South Africa's ongoing gender-based violence crisis makes the subject impossible to ignore. Behind every headline is a person trying to rebuild a life that has been changed forever.

One of the strongest findings from her research is that trauma rarely disappears once the abuse ends. Survivors often live with anxiety, depression, emotional numbness, sleep disturbances and an overwhelming sense of fear. Many become hypervigilant, constantly scanning their surroundings for danger, while others withdraw from relationships or avoid places that remind them of their experiences.

Silence, she says, is one of the most misunderstood responses. "People often think survivors are weak because they don't speak out, but silence is often a survival mechanism. It comes from shame, fear of being judged, or the pain of not being believed."

Mmabatho Makotanyane: Giving survivors a voice and creating spaces for healing.

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Makotanyane's research also found that many survivors seek comfort online when they feel abandoned by families, partners or institutions. Social media platforms, podcasts, blogs and online communities have become places where people can finally say what they have carried in silence for years.

These conversations can be incredibly therapeutic because they allow survivors to feel heard and understood. But Makotanyane is careful to point out that they should never be confused with professional therapy.

"Online communities provide validation and connection," she explains. "They help people realise they are not alone. But healing also requires trauma-informed counselling that addresses the root causes of pain."

One of the biggest obstacles survivors continue to face is the burden of shame and self-blame. Instead of asking why someone chose to commit violence, many survivors find themselves questioning what they did wrong. Makotanyane believes society has played a significant role in reinforcing those harmful beliefs through victim-blaming and cultural silence.

"We need healing language," she says. "Language that comforts instead of blaming. Survivors shouldn't have to defend their pain while they're trying to recover from it."

She also warns that communities can unintentionally cause what experts refer to as secondary trauma when survivors are dismissed, doubted or criticised after speaking out. Instead of becoming places of safety, families and communities can deepen emotional wounds that are already difficult to heal.

Her research further examines how trauma, unhealthy power dynamics and learned behaviour continue to fuel gender-based violence. Children often grow up witnessing violence in homes, schools and communities where abuse is normalised and accountability is absent. Without intervention, those patterns are easily repeated across generations.

Breaking that cycle, she believes, requires far more than stronger laws. It means teaching healthy relationships, challenging harmful ideas of masculinity, providing trauma-sensitive counselling and creating environments where empathy is valued over dominance and control. Communities, families and workplaces all have a role to play in changing the culture that allows violence to continue.

That same passion for healing extends into her work through MM Communications, where she facilitates empowerment sessions designed to support women through a wide range of personal experiences. "Our sessions are not limited to gender-based violence survivors," she explains. "They are open to women from all walks of life and cover healing topics such as grief and loss, divorce, childhood trauma, and other empowering themes. Every woman going through something is invited to participate."

Rather than focusing solely on one form of trauma, these therapeutic and spiritually enriching spaces encourage women to find healing, resilience and hope, regardless of the challenges they are facing. They complement her academic work while reflecting her broader mission of empowering women to move forward with confidence.

One quote continues to guide her work, "Shame dies when stories are told in safe spaces." She has witnessed women open up about experiences they had never shared before simply because they finally felt heard. Those moments, she says, remind her why creating safe environments matters.

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As both a journalist and researcher, Makotanyane also believes the media carries enormous responsibility. Reporting on gender-based violence should never become sensational. Instead, stories should protect survivors' dignity, use trauma-sensitive language and shift public attention away from blaming victims towards holding perpetrators accountable.

Despite the challenges, she remains hopeful. "To every survivor, I want to say, You are not what happened to you. Your pain is real, your voice matters, and you are not alone."

For Makotanyane, healing begins with conversation. Whether through research, public speaking, journalism or women's empowerment sessions, every honest discussion helps remove shame, restore dignity and remind people that healing is possible. It is a future she believes South Africa can build, one conversation, one safe space and one courageous voice at a time.