TUT students claim rape, gender violence at conference
Rector, Dr Kenneth Fhatuwani Netshiombo and the deputy minister of government communication and information systems, Pinky Kekana, spoke at the conference.
MBOMBELA – A member of the Student Representative Council admitted to being raped on the Tswane University of Technology Mbombela Campus. She then added that there were no structures in place to help her.
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This at a gender-based conference held at the university last Monday. At the beginning of the conference rector, Dr Kenneth Fhatuwani Netshiombo urged victims of gender-based violence to speak out.
He promised that he would work endlessly to resolve all the issues on campus. “I am embarrassed that this is happening,” Netshiombo said. The deputy minister of government communication and information systems, Pinky Kekana, also visited the campus.
She spoke out against gender-based violence on this campus as well as others nationwide. “But discussions alone cannot solve societal problems,” Kekana said. “The blatant truth is that women are not safe in the church, on campus, in the workplace and at home,” she stated, adding that the solution is to stand up against it and educate people “so that we can move forward”.
The deputy minister also commended the late Albertina Sisulu for the action she took against gender-based violence, especially cruelty against women and children. Other organisations that attended the conference included GRIP, SAPS and the Hawks who all work with the victims of gender-based violence and who supported the campaign against it wholeheartedly.
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