Gender-based Violence (GBV) against women and girls and Domestic Violence (DV) remains one of the most pervasive human rights violations of our time, and one of the biggest South African national problems. While “Rights” discourse is an essential democratic value, it is not in itself a plausible intervention strategy in contexts where religion (embedded in culture) is a social determinant of hierarchical gender power-relations. A significant gap exists in literature which speaks to the experiences of NGOs, practitioners and religious leaders working in these fields to account for how these problems are experienced and addressed at grass-roots level. This two-part report reflects on analyses the efforts of the South African Faith and Family Institute (SAFFI), a multi-faith NGO focused on strengthening the capacity of religious leaders and faith communities in addressing violence against women in intimate relationships, families and society.