Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Blade Nzimande, has addressed the issue of Gender-Based Violence towards women taking place on university campuses across South Africa.
During a speech at the Ministerial Higher Health Roundtable on Youth Health and Wellness on the 22nd of August, the Minister cited figures of the South African Medical Research Council, which revealed that 10% of all rape cases reported in the country come from institutions of higher learning.
"The post-school education and training sector (PSET) is home to over 2,5 million youth, where more than 51% of these are adolescent girls & young women between the ages of 15 – 24 years old, with statistics from the Medical Research Council (MRC) indicating that 10% of all reported rape cases come from the higher education sector," said the Minister.
Young women are under the threat of Gender-Based Violence while attending colleges and universities. Female students fall directly under this 10%, and run the risk of experiencing sexual violence (and other forms of GBV) while on campus, often at the hands of their male peers.
GBV runs rampant in South Africa, even earning the title of being the "rape capital of the world" by Interpol. President Cyril Ramaphosa declared GBV against the country's female population a "second pandemic" in 2020, noting that it needed to be taken as seriously as the coronavirus.
According to Statistics South Africa, nearly 50% of GBV assaults are committed by someone close such as a friend or acquaintance (22%), spouse or intimate partner (15%), or a relative or household member (13%); and only 29% are committed by a complete stranger.
The Minister says we need to actively campaign for a world where all people have equal rights and opportunities.
"Where women and girls are not afraid of walking home late at night, and men and boys are not trapped in oppressive masculinities, but where gender equality becomes a reality, including men and women getting paid equally for work of equal value and share household responsibility," mentioned the Minister.
Although women have gained more access to opportunities for education, the fear and danger of experiencing assault and violence stays with them as they venture into higher education.
Nzimande, in his speech, reminded listeners of the highly-publicized and unforgettable murders of young women in recent years, mentioning Uyinene Mrwetyana, a student at the University of Cape Town (UCT), Jesse Hess, a student at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), and Nosicelo Mtebeni, a student at the University of Fort Hare; whose body was brutally dismembered a year ago, amongst others.
South African women have earned high positions in Government, they are still under the dangerously oppressive thumb of patriarchal systems that allows for the life-threatening severity of GBV to rage a war on their bodies.
South African women are already socio-economically disadvantaged from their male counterparts based on their gender alone; that oppression, paired with the remaining inequalities of the past, places vulnerable women (women of colour, women living in poverty and children) at more of a risk of being subjected to GBV.
Nzimande has called for the correcting of the toxic mindsets our society enables in young men and boys, saying "At the centre of my argument is the necessity to grapple with formation of masculinities in our families, communities and society as a whole, as a critical dimension to take forward the struggle for gender equality and women’s emancipation."
The minister ended off by saying it is of great importance that we as a country "all fight against GBV, discrimination based on gender, and patriarchal attitudes and practices in institutions, workplace and homes. Men must be part of initiatives that challenge negative masculinity."
