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Nominations awaited for Joint Working Groups against gender-based violence at SU
Author: Corporate Communication / Korporatiewe Kommunikasie
Published: 09/10/2019

Joint Working Groups are being set up to combat gender-based violence (GBV) at Stellenbosch University (SU). They will address issues identified in the memorandum of the Anti-GBV Movement SU, and management's subsequent response.

This was the outcome of the fourth anti-GBV meeting the past month between management and students, which took place on Tuesday afternoon (8 October 2019). It was attended by members of the Rectorate, the Anti-GBV Movement SU, Students' Representative Council (SRC), Tygerberg Student Council (TSR) and Prim Committee.

“We condemn GBV and will not tolerate it. That is why we are mustering all the resources at our disposal. Good progress has already been made on several fronts, for instance security. We want to keep our momentum," SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor Prof Wim de Villiers, who chaired the meeting, said.

Six working groups have been identified:

  1. Values and Principles
  2. Safety and Security
  3. Training and Awareness
  4. Residences and Structures
  5. Procedures and Processes
  6. Mental Health, and Alcohol and Substance Abuse

Detailed terms of reference are currently being drafted. The overall project leader will be Dr Choice Makhetha, Senior Director: Student Affairs. Each working group will be overseen by a member of the Rectorate, and will have representation from University structures most relevant to the topics under discussion, as well as from students.

“The dialogue between us is extremely valuable and should continue. We are collaborating as a University community to go forward together against gender-based violence," Prof De Villiers said.

Nominations:

Both formal structures and ad-hoc groupings among staff and students are being asked to nominate working group members. Nominations should be sent to antigbv@sun.ac.za  (CC: studentaffairs@sun.ac.za). This should include the name and surname of the nominee, their contact details, as well as a short motivation referring to the person's previous experience in the field covered by the particular working group, and their intended contribution. The deadline is Friday, 25 October.