Recent crime statistics show that 898 women were killed in South Africa from January to March 2022, and 282 cases of attempted murder against women were reported. During this period 10 818 women reported rapes, of which 4 653 took place at the home of the rape victim or the home of the rapist.
While the South African government takes a collective stance against gender-based violence (GBV) as indicated in the recent State of the Nation Address, the North-West University (NWU) decided to take an equal stance from an educational standpoint, hosting its inaugural Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Awareness Campaign with great success.
The hybrid campaign titled "Silence Allows Violence, Speak Up...It All Starts Here", was a joint effort between the university's Employee Wellness, Student Judicial Services and Alumni Relations offices across the three campuses.
During the campaign GBV experts and GBV survivors from various NWU departments shared information and resources related to their stance against the South African GBV crisis.
The campaign kicked-off with a virtual presentation by lecturer in social work Vedhna Lalla, who spoke about raising healthy males. Martin Pelders, a television personality and sexual abuse survivor, then talked about men as survivors of abuse, women as abusers, and LGBTQIA+ awareness. He emphasised sexual assault against boys and men, calling it an "unknown pandemic".
"Violence against men and boys is a taboo subject that many people, even victims, are hesitant to discuss. This issue complicates matters in opposed to raising awareness of GBV against men. The misconception is that bringing the issue to light will promote misogyny and divert attention away from the gravity of the GBV crisis against girls and women," says GBV campaign co-organiser, prosecutor and head of Student Judicial Services on the Vanderbijlpark Campus, Ujeet Maharaj. He says this has resulted in a lack of assistance for male GBV victims.
Ujeet, together with Michelle Bownes, a senior employee specialist from Employee Relations, spoke on protocol compliance from both a student and a staff perspective, emphasising the significance of breaking the silence and serving justice to transform our society as a whole.
Furthermore, Shanae Theunissen, a Psychology lecturer, and Lebo Maekela, representing Student Life and an LGBTQIA+ activist, talked about interpersonal violence, stalking, and reporting sexual harassment, as well as accessing on and off campus services.
Employee wellness specialist and one of the event’s organisers, Genevieve Poodhun, says they are pleased with the enthusiasm the campaign was received and will arrange similar conversations in the coming months.
"The turnout was good, and the positive reception was really encouraging. We had really good discussions and would like to have more of them in casual settings. The subjects of these conversations demonstrate how important this platform is," adds Genevieve.
