Cohabitation, Intimate Partner Violence, and Femicide among Female Tertiary Students in South Africa: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) remain pervasive challenges in South African higher education, with female students experiencing disproportionate vulnerability. While the risks of intimate partner violence (IPV) are increasingly recognized, the specific role of cohabiting living arrangements as a contextual risk factor remains underexplored and insufficiently synthesized within the existing literature. This scoping review aims to systematically map and synthesize available evidence on the intersection between cohabitation, IPV, and femicide among female students at South African tertiary institutions. Specifically, it seeks to identify the factors influencing students' decisions to cohabit, examine the documented manifestations of GBVF within cohabiting relationships, analyse the effects on students' academic and personal well-being, and pinpoint gaps in the current evidence base. A scoping review was conducted following the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley and refined by Levac. A comprehensive search of electronic databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, Sabinet, Google Scholar, and PubMed, was undertaken for peer-reviewed articles, grey literature, and institutional reports published between 2000 and 2025. Studies were included if they addressed cohabiting relationships among tertiary students in South Africa and reported on outcomes related to GBV, IPV, or femicide. Data were extracted using a standardized charting form and synthesized thematically following Braun and Clarke's six-step approach. The review reveals a complex interplay of structural, institutional, and relational factors that link cohabitation to elevated GBVF risks among female students. Key drivers of cohabitation identified across the literature include structural factors, such as inadequate on-campus accommodation, high residence fees, and financial insecurity; personal and relational factors, including the pursuit of autonomy, privacy, and emotional/physical intimacy; and institutional failures in providing supportive housing policies and effective GBV response mechanisms. The synthesized evidence further indicates that cohabiting female students experience heightened vulnerability to physical, emotional, and sexual IPV, with significant consequences including coercive control, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, academic disruption, and mental health challenges. Notably, the review identifies a critical gap in literature directly linking cohabitation to femicide outcomes, suggesting an urgent need for targeted research in this area. This scoping review provides a comprehensive synthesis of evidence on cohabitation as a contextual driver of GBVF risk among South African female tertiary students. The findings underscore the need for multi-sectoral interventions that address not only individual-level attitudes and behaviours but also the structural and institutional determinants of vulnerability. Recommendations include reforming university accommodation policies, strengthening on-campus GBV prevention and response infrastructures, integrating cohabitation-specific risk assessments into student support services, and implementing educational programmes targeting both men and women. The review also highlights significant research gaps, particularly regarding femicide and longitudinal studies, which should guide future inquiry.