Universities told to account for rapes

AP Photo/Mark Duncan

AP Photo/Mark Duncan

Published Aug 28, 2016

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Johannesburg - Four top South African universities have been summoned to account how they use their budget to advance gender transformation and monitor gender violence on campuses.

The Commission on Gender Equality (CGE) has called on the universities of Cape Town, Wits, Rhodes and KwaZulu-Natal to explain the risks experienced by women at their universities.

This comes after a recent shutdown of Rhodes University by students who embarked on anti-rape protests and the resultant opening of debate on sexual violence on campuses around the country.

The Ministry of Higher Education last year reported that a total of 247 cases of sexual violence, domestic violence and rape had been reported at South African universities since 2012.

According to the commission, sexual violence and abuse are not specifically covered in the policies and codes of conduct at most universities.

Mfanozelwe Shozi, chairman of CGE, vowed to end gender-based violence at universities as Women's Month comes to an end this week.

“The CGE’s decision to turn a special focus on institutions of higher learning has been precipitated by media reports as well as complaints that have been made to the CGE by both employees and students in the sector,” Shozi said at the plenary session of the commission in Milpark.

“These complaints included, among other things, incidents of gender-based violence and sex for marks.”

He said some universities lacked awareness of the sexual harassment policy and adequate reporting mechanisms, and had inadequate mechanisms to protect victims.

He said students who resided outside the universities’ premises were often susceptible to gender violence when compared to those residing within university premises.

Shozi said the objectives of the commission's hearings with universities in October would be to hold them accountable for non-compliance and to ascertain the vulnerabilities and risks experienced by women at them.

“These hearings will include assessing the impact of the institutions on their student population, sexual harassment policies, and determine the allocation of their budget for gender transformation,” he added.

Shozi said the CGE monitored the case of a final-year BSc student at the University of Venda found guilty by the high court in Thohoyandou of murdering and raping women and children.

Among the victims were a university female student and female general worker. The convict is currently serving nine life sentences for the offences.

Meanwhile, Shozi was heckled and disrupted by #Endrape culture students activists at the Constitutional Hill’s Rethink Africa dialogue last week for failing to protect them.

They shouted: “We are tired of talking. We want action now, you have failed to protect us. You must go.”

The Sunday Independent

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