SEDIBENG.- The Sedibeng Community Safety Forum held a School Safety Cycle Tour last week.

The tour, held in different areas of Sedibeng, was part of a broader effort to address gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). The tour also included visits to various schools and dialogues focused on crime prevention.

“With youth increasingly vulnerable to criminal and social risks, the Sedibeng District’s investment to target interventions like the cycle tour places emphasis on community engagement and increases awareness campaigns,” the Sedibeng District Municipality (SDM) said.

This initiative follows directly from IDP priorities outlined in the recent State of the District Address (SoDA), where Executive Mayor Lerato Maloka’s proclaimed the Sedibeng District’s intention to intensify school safety programmes, improve community-police partnerships, and confront the root causes of youth vulnerability.

“We continue to ensure the safety of all schools in the Sedibeng region, resulting in a safe learning and teaching environment for our students, educators, and the surrounding community.”

A pre-tour assessment was conducted by the cycle tour task team, which visited five schools across the district. The findings were sobering and revealed  site-specific challenges such as sexual activity among learners in school toilets, substance abuse by learners and gangsterism and recruitment on school.

The cycle tour kicked off on July 28 and concluded on August 1.