A discussion about gender-based violence (GBV) in institutions of higher learning, initiated by Prof Thuli Madonsela, Law Trust Chair in Social Justice at Stellenbosch University, aims to contribute to the development of policy guidelines that will assist tertiary institutions to deal with the scourge of GBV.
Over the last few years, several incidents of GBV on campuses in South Africa made national headlines, despite a transformative constitution and legislation that protect human rights and prohibits human rights abuses.
The broad objective of the Expert Roundtable on GBV in institutions of higher learning that will be held on Thursday 25 August in Stellenbosch and online, is to explore the historical and current consequences of discourse on GBV on campuses while evaluating the social and developmental impacts of GBV on victims, communities, society, and families. Another objective is to explore and understand the nature and intersectional dynamics of GBV through a social justice lens anchored in human rights.
Madonsela says there is a need in South Africa and globally to better contextualise GBV in institutions of higher learning. “I think there is a poor understanding of how GBV manifests in institutions of higher learning, the intersectional identities of victims and offenders, its prevalence patterns, root causes, and the conditions that encourage it. With this roundtable discussion we hope to encourage tertiary institutions to design and adopt policies that are preventative, rather than reactive in nature, and ensure adequate input by various stakeholders, including staff, students, representative bodies, researchers, and the wider academic community,” Madonsela explains, adding that the Expert Roundtable on GBV will also explore the design of recovery facilities and counselling programmes with a specific focus on rehabilitation and accountability.
Experts from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds, including feminist writer Joy Watson and counselling psychologist and mediator Jenna Bayer, have been invited to the Expert Roundtable on GBV. The programme director of the event is Karyn Maughan, a News24 legal journalist, documentary producer and author.
