A 100-Day Challenge is a structured sprint. A team of frontline workers who are closest to the problem sets one ambitious, survivor-focused goal and works intensely for 100 days to reach it. They test new ideas, partnerships and processes, move quickly when something works, pivot when something doesn’t, all with the aim of localising the National Strategic Plan on GBVF in the places where people live, study and seek justice. Three cycles of Ending GBVF 100-Day Challenges are currently underway, with two more launching in July.
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges have become some of the most active spaces for this work. Teams there concentrate on three focus areas for their 100-Day Challenge: encouraging more survivors to report, making sure those who come forward receive care and support, and holding perpetrators accountable.
Northlink College ran its challenge across all seven campuses with a clear reporting goal, working to lift the number of students who safely report incidents from a baseline of three to four a month towards seven to eight. The team paired this with dialogue sessions known as Incoko, trained counselors that students could approach with confidence, and formed partnerships with Pride Shelter, Saartjie Bartman Shelter and Inceba, so that reporting connected students to real services.
Boland TVET College’s “Reset 100” team reached an estimated 1,400 new students across five campuses through first-year orientation, bringing police and victim empowerment services directly to young people. Their “Wednesdays in Black” practice turned an occasional conversation into a weekly, visible presence, and their pledge banners travelled to sport matches and regional meetings to widen the message beyond campus.
At Tshwane University of Technology, the Faculty of Arts and Design used artivism, the fusion of art and activism, creating and publishing work over 100 days that opened honest conversation about GBVF. Performances such as Not My Size, built from the real words shouted at women in the street, pushed audiences to reflect, and gave students a way to speak when direct words felt too difficult.
Municipalities are opening governance itself to young people. Stellenbosch Municipality inaugurated its first Junior Town Council at the end of May 2025, giving young leaders a formal seat alongside councillors as part of its 100-Day Challenge on GBVF prevention through youth leadership. “This initiative gives young leaders a seat at the table, empowering them to learn about the inner workings of local government, get involved in community outreach and represent the voices of their peers,” said Mayor Jeremy Fasser.
In the courts, previous teams in Limpopo hosted moot court sessions for high school learners, where students saw how sexual offence cases are run and what minimum sentences apply on conviction. Teaching young people that violence is wrong is one thing. Showing them, step by step, how justice works makes the law tangible and plants the idea that fairness can be demanded.
Young people are among those most affected by GBVF, and they are also among the most able to shift the culture around it. When they help design the response, they reach peers in language and spaces that adults often cannot, and they build habits of accountability and care that outlast any single sprint.
These are the seeds behind the numbers. Behind more than 360 challenges since 2021 are young people who have decided that ending GBVF is work they will help lead, this Youth Day and beyond.
Youth Month.