Each woman who has experienced horror deserves a moment of silence. But if we had a moment of silence for every case of women abuse and murder, SA would be a silent nation. It is not. While we laugh, roar and shout — even whisper — women in their numbers suffer and die in silence.
But what would happen if we, as communities, no longer allowed this terrible silence to roar? What if we challenged cultures and practices that perpetuate gender inequalities that result in the abuse of women? What if we denounced abusers, and better yet, reported them?
That is one of many things a policy framework and action plan from the department of higher education & training (DHET) is trying to do to end gender-based violence (GBV) on campuses.
This is the first government agency that has taken this level of action since the president launched the National Strategic Plan on GBV more than a year ago.
Higher education is serious about recognising GBV as a public health emergency in the same vein as HIV and Covid.
Higher Health’s plan is a practical one that makes the implementation steps clear and survivor-centred
The action plan developed by the department’s task team, which is composed of multisectoral representatives, includes detailed GBV protocols at every step of the process. It also limits reliance on the police, who are often under-resourced to appropriately deal with cases of GBV.
Co-author Cheryl Zondi confesses that she wonders “if she would have survived” if she had had to rely on the police or if she had not had access to the psychosocial support she received on campus after her testimony in Timothy Omotoso's rape trial.
It has been a protracted process. In 2017 the DHET requested the nonprofit Higher Health to develop a policy framework to address GBV in the sector. In doing so, stakeholders from management, student leadership, unions and many more were widely consulted.
Last year minister of higher education Blade Nzimande released the department’s policy framework that sets out strategies to deal with GBV on campuses. The importance of this is that it compels all institutions of higher education to actually do something about GBV, rather than just talk about it.
SA is known for having good policies but unfortunately it is also known for its poor implementation of them. But Higher Health’s plan is a practical one that overcomes this hurdle and makes the implementation steps clear and survivor-centred.
This is no different to the approach to the other health pandemics cited above. But the kind of care and resources given to HIV, for example, has not been spent on GBV.
An unfortunate truth is that GBV largely affects women and members of the LGBTQI community, so in many patriarchal societies, including our own, it is easier to ignore.
But not on South African campuses any more; places where women are thought of as equal. Higher Health has developed principles, guidelines, protocols, minimum standards and checklists that are practical and actionable.
They include such details as what constitutes GBV, so that no-one is confused by a definition. They include how to report GBV and how campuses must investigate it, and they set out the consequences.
The policy is equitable. It covers all students and staff from campuses in rural, peri-urban and urban areas who form part of the institutions of higher education. Even off-campus university-based events are covered.
Whether it is a university, a TVET (technical and vocational education & training) college or a community education college, a campus in Ulundi, a campus in Alex or an urban campus in Johannesburg, access to the same holistic services will apply.
The policy acknowledges that dealing with GBV cases once they occur is just half the issue; equally important is prevention.
How do you expect a traumatised young person to qualify, or acquire the skills to go into the competitive market and earn a living for their family?
Again, because of its scale, GBV should be treated like other health, social and economic crises — and prevention is better than cure in terms of lives saved and the ultimate costs felt by broader society.
It is important to remember that these students we are now aiming to help, particularly women graduates, become role models and often changemakers in their communities and beyond. Protecting them while they develop this potential is critical.
The early detection of these abusive relationships can only be achieved through education, prevention programmes and awareness programmes
The Higher Health prevention plan is centred on the routine provision of youth-friendly, survivor-centred services, education via both a standalone GBV curriculum and peer-to-peer interaction, capacity development, advocacy, a 24-hour helpline, destigmatisation and campus security.
Many survivors of sexual assault or who are in violent relationships suffer from shame and fear speaking out. This is why part of the plan is strengthening peer-led GBV support groups where survivors can share their experiences in a safe and receptive environment. This is important on social, emotional and psychological levels.
SA’s violence levels have been compared to countries at war, which harms the mind and is a long-term threat to the health of South African women.
The prevention part of the plan focuses on early risk detection of students at risk of being victims or perpetrators of GBV, using the curriculum to change behaviour and educate, and providing on-campus biomedical services such as pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV.
The early detection of abusive relationships can only be achieved through education, prevention programmes and awareness programmes. There is a lot of work that should be done during these early phases, so we can intervene and even prevent GBV taking place.
A policy that delivers on this could save so many.
• Ahluwalia is the CEO of Higher Health; Zondi is a GBV survivor and student
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