Accountability key to curbing GBV

Higher education slowly moving in the right direction by putting actionable policies in place

IN THIS period of 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children, we are faced once more with the reality that this is a grievous issue South African women and children are confronted with 365 days of the year.

The world is currently dealing with a pandemic in the form of Covid-19, and South Africa has been in some form of lockdown since late March. But any hopes that gender-based violence (GBV) would decrease with citizens compelled to stay at home to curb the spread of the virus were quickly dashed. More than 2 000 GBV cases were reported in the first week alone.

Institutions of higher learning are not exempt from this. Students are exposed to all the variations of GBV within faculties, on campuses, in their residences and at their homes. There are few safe spaces in which they can pursue their education.

While Statistics South Africa reports that physical violence is more prevalent among less-educated women, there is concern that unreported cases among those with secondary education or higher are skewing the findings.

In July, Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Blade Nzimande released a policy framework aimed at creating an enabling environment for eradicating GBV, instilling respect, and protecting and promoting the human rights enshrined in the Constitution within the post-school education sector.

Minister Nzimande raised the issue of intersectionalities during a sitting of Parliament in 2016, when the question of developing a sectoral policy was discussed. While every institution had sexual harassment policies and the like in place, we wanted one for higher education as a whole, to enable government to put accountability mechanisms in place across all tertiary institutions in the country.

This is where Higher Health became involved, working with all stakeholders to shape a sectoral policy that would be actionable. Before the policy was crafted, research was conducted and data going as far back as 1970 was gathered to show that GBV is far from being a new phenomenon. In 1992, for instance, UCT hosted a GBV conference attended by 18 institutions.

It is important to realise that higher education alone cannot fight GBV. When mergers were happening and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges were evolving into today’s post-school education system, activism increased.

Silent protests and actions to create awareness and drive change are an important part of the history of South Africa’s post-school education transition.

From around 2005, universities and colleges started reporting on sexual violence perpetuated by staff wanting “sex for marks”, academics who were found guilty began to be named and shamed, and various activities were undertaken to raise awareness of GBV among students. These developments formed the foundation for the policy that was announced in July.

And because peer-to-peer accountability mechanisms are among the most effective, we have started a second curriculum on GBV which runs as an extramural for students across all campuses.

Treating GBV within the context of life-skills development is another preventative method being used to curb GBV on and off campus. There are also risk assessment tools to alert students who might be unaware of the behavioural patterns of the different forms of GBV to possible perpetrators in their home and campus environments.

Higher education institutions are required to set up programmes ensuring that security personnel are on campus 24/7/365; that students and staff can access a safe room; that rape kits are available; and that these interventions are underscored by psychosocial counselling.

A toll-free 24-hour helpline – 0800 36 36 36 – has been launched to assist students who are afraid to report such crimes in person.

Accountability is the key to curbing GBV, and all parties must be held answerable in the delivery of this programme – from administrators, academics and other staff to students and their representative bodies. Higher education is slowly moving in the right direction by putting actionable policies in place – a first in Africa.