Joy Watson is a senior researcher and writer. Her work focuses on analysing public policy and funding flows from the perspective of working towards greater social equity. She works both in South Africa and globally on research and social justice initiatives that seek to prevent and address violence against women and girls. Joy has served as a senior researcher and technical advisor to the South African Parliament. She has extensive experience in developing and working on civil society advocacy campaigns that seek to promote social justice and to find effective ways of engaging with states. Her research on violence against women in South Africa has been used as the basis for a television documentary. She has co-authored two collections of essays—Nasty Women Talk Back and Striving for Social Equity. Her debut novel, The Other Me, published by Karavan Press, sought to use literature to highlight the harm of emotional and psychological violence. It was long-listed for the Sunday Times Prize and was shortlisted for the UJ Prize in 2023.
Joy Watson
Speaker — Rise & Resist. In-Conversation (Industry Event, 2025)
Global consultant, researcher, and writer working at the intersection of gender, public policy, and social change