Cape Town - UCT is pursuing yet another alleged rape and sexual assault of a student, apparently by two members of the Student Representative Council.
The SRC announced that it had suspended two of its members after they were named by a female student for supposedly raping and sexually harassing her.
In a statement, the SRC said the decision was made at a meeting earlier this week, and the decision was unanimous.
“In a time where gender-based violence is a scourge in this country and across
our campuses, the all-black UCT SRC
seeks to never be oblivious to the issues
that affect all women, black women in
particular.”
The secretary-general of the SRC was said to have raped the student, while the undergraduate academics co-ordinator was said to have sexually harassed her.
“While campaigning for the SRC, we committed ourselves to champion efforts to fight against gender-based violence. Thus, in an effort to advance the fight,
we are hereby suspending our own members pending an investigation of these allegations.”
The SRC has notified the institution’s discrimination and harassment office about the matter and is offering supportive services to the affected student.
“The society that we live in is a deeply violent and patriarchal one, and as such, allegations cannot be taken lightly.
“We hope to strengthen the voice of the survivor and hold alleged perpetrators accountable publicly so that their behaviour can be dealt with accordingly.”
While the SRC named the two alleged attackers, the university was against
the move.
UCT spokesperson Elijah Mahola said there was concern about the public naming of the alleged perpetrators.
“We believe it is not appropriate to publicly name alleged perpetrators.
“We view this as contrary to the principle of fairness and justice, and it may interfere with the legal proceedings.
“We urge everyone in the UCT community to abide by the principle that when allegations are levelled against any individual, it is the work of the legal and disciplinary processes to deal with the matter, and alleged perpetrators are innocent until proved guilty in a court of law or through a disciplinary process.”
He said the university was looking into the matter.
“The University of Cape Town confirms that we are aware of alleged incidents involving two SRC members who have been suspended by the student governance structure,” added Mahola.
“These alleged incidents have been brought to the attention of the university and are urgently being investigated.”