Call on students to develop solutions to combat GBVF

Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Nomusa Dube-Ncube has challenged TVET college students to use their technical skills and innovation to develop practical solutions to combat gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) in South Africa. 

She was addressing the South African Technical and Vocational Education and Training Students Association (SATVETSA) GBV Awareness and Career Fairs and Guidance Campaign at Thekwini TVET College's Asherville Campus in Durban on Friday.

“We have reached a point in South Africa where speeches against gender-based violence are no longer enough. We need better questions, and we need young minds willing to find better answers,” the Deputy Minister said.

Under the theme, “Safe Campuses, Safe Communities, Safe Futures!”, the six-day campaign will extend to KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and other provinces.

Dube-Ncube highlighted the need to address GBVF at individual, relationship, community and societal levels, arguing that awareness campaigns alone were insufficient to tackle the underlying causes of violence.

She said career guidance and skills development were also important tools in preventing GBVF, as economic independence gave women greater choices and the ability to leave abusive relationships.

“This is why I say that career guidance and skills development are not separate from the fight against GBV. They are GBV prevention. A young woman with a qualification, a skill and an income of her own is a young woman with choices,” she said.

The Deputy Minister also raised concerns about technology-facilitated abuse, including online threats, stalking, controlling partners' locations, the sharing of private images and sextortion.

She challenged students to use their technical knowledge to develop safety applications with panic buttons linked to campus security and the Higher Health helpline, anonymous reporting platforms and digital literacy campaigns to help young people protect themselves against online abuse.

Engineering students were also encouraged to design and install solar-powered lighting along routes frequently used by students, while others could map unsafe areas around campuses, residences and taxi ranks.

Dube-Ncube further called for social interventions, including men's dialogues, peer education programmes and partnerships with traditional leaders, faith-based organisations, taxi associations and schools to challenge harmful attitudes and behaviours.

Protecting students
The Deputy Minister emphasised the responsibility of higher education institutions to respond swiftly and appropriately to reports of GBV, particularly on campuses, residences and private student accommodation.

She said the Department of Higher Education and Training published a Policy Framework to Address Gender-Based Violence in the Post-School Education and Training System in 2020, which requires institutions to have anti-GBV policies, designated offices and support services for survivors.

Higher Health and the sector's Technical Task Team have also developed model guidelines, a Code of Conduct and eight protocols, and over 8 000 staff members trained since 2021.

“A policy that sits in a drawer protects no one. Batho Pele asks us for courtesy, access, information and redress. A student who reports abuse must be treated with dignity, not turned away or made to feel ashamed,” she said.

She also condemned sexual exploitation involving lecturers and students, particularly where academic authority is used to exert pressure on students, adding that it is a crime.

She urged college management to act decisively when such conduct is reported, protect students who come forward and ensure that alleged offenders are not simply transferred to other campuses.

Student-led solutions
Dube-Ncube announced that she would convene a special workshop on GBV in the post-school education and training sector, inviting SATVETSA student leaders and representatives of Student Representative Councils to participate.

She said students would help shape the agenda, lead sessions and present evidence from their campuses on safety concerns, reporting processes and interventions that work.
She challenged each campus participating in the six-day campaign to identify at least one technological and one social solution to GBV, with SATVETSA expected to consolidate the proposals for consideration at the workshop.

The strongest proposals would be taken to partners, including Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), the National Skills Fund and Higher Health, for possible support and implementation.
As a member of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on GBVF, Dube-Ncube also committed to bringing the concerns and recommendations of TVET students into the committee's work.

Career guidance and skills development
The Deputy Minister said the campaign's career guidance component is equally important in promoting economic independence and creating opportunities for young people.

She encouraged students to engage with the various SETAs, including the Safety and Security Sector Education and Training Authority (SASSETA), the National Skills Fund, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and Khetha, the department's career development service.

The NSFAS exhibition desk was available to assist with 2027 applications, appeals and allowance queries.

She also encouraged students to pursue Work Integrated Learning opportunities, highlighting the importance of workplace experience in complementing academic qualifications.

“A TVET [Technical and Vocational Education and Training] qualification is not a second choice. It is a key to independence,” she said.

Safe communities
Dube-Ncube urged students and young people experiencing or concerned about GBV to contact Higher Health's 24-hour, toll-free and confidential crisis line on 0800 36 36 36, which is available in all official languages.

The campaign comes ahead of the country's 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, which begins later in November.

She called on students to use their skills, ideas and innovations to contribute to safer campuses and communities.

“Safe campuses. Safe communities. Safe futures. That is the South Africa we are building together,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za

 

Source: Original report at SAnews.gov.za.