Uyinene foundation launches workshops concerning ‘consent’
Topic must be discussed with youth in fight against gender-based violence
I learnt that it is important for my peers and I to have this kind of conversation, as uncomfortable as it may be
Consent is a crucial topic, and it needs to be unpacked and discussed with young people as early as possible.
This was the message from the Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation (UMF), which has launched special workshops targeting rural schools in particular.
On Friday the foundation, named after the murdered East London-born UCT student, launched the first of a series of Consent Talks, at Nathaniel Pamla High School in Ngqushwa.
In collaboration with NPO The Gift of the Givers, 360 Grade 11 and 12 pupils were part of a talk that aimed at building sustainable programmes to promote community engagement in the fight against gender-based violence.
Foundation representative Zizipho Ludidi delivered a talk on gender-based violence using the acronym FRIES to underline how important it was for young people to understand the concepts of Freely given, Reversible, Informed, Enthusiastic and Specific.
The pupils engaged well and there was lively participation in the talk with comments and questions.
Grade 11 pupil Libone Nesi said: “I learnt a lot about GBV and how important it is for my peers and me to have the conversation, as uncomfortable as it may be, to combat GBV and protect those who are easily targeted as victims.”
Qiqa Majamani said it was important for boys to understand and respect the meaning of consent, and not to force matters.
“Girls do not owe anyone, especially boys or men, anything. They should be able to feel safe and free in their communities.”
Ludidi ended her talk by highlighting that gender-based violence and consent was an “us” problem; that society was both the problem and the solution, and that it was up to society at large to fight GBV.
Uyinene was known to be inquisitive, forthright and vocal about the social ills that plague society, including patriarchal oppression and gender-based violence.
The foundation’s main aim is to empower young people to stand up against violence.
Uyinene was brutally raped and murdered by Luyanda Botha in August 2019 at the Clareinch post office in Claremont, Cape Town.
Botha confessed to luring the student to the post office during lunchtime, knowing it would be closed at that time.
He had told her that her parcel, which she had gone to collect, would be ready then.
Eastern Cape project manager of The Gift of the Givers Corene Conradie said though they were known as an organisation that donated food parcels and basic essentials to communities in need, they were approached by people in rural areas who had been victims of gender-based violence but were afraid to speak out.
“We decided to partner with UMF because we want to be the voice of those who succumbed to GBV, and for those who are victims of this stigma. We found out that during the Covid-19 hard lockdown last year, people suffered in abusive homes.
“We want to fight this stigma by raising awareness, especially in rural areas,” she said.
The programme ended with The Gift of The Givers donating toiletries to the pupils.
The UMF and Gift of the Givers will run roadshows until the end of May by visiting schools across the province. This week they will visit schools in Butterworth and Centane.