UNIVEN march against high rate of crime, GBV
The University of Venda students want the issue of gender-based violence and rape, that is embattled to the university students and other surrounding areas, to be addressed.
LIMPOPO – The University of Venda Student Representative Council (SRC) led by ANCYL together with progressive formation and students on Friday embarked on a peaceful march to various offices including the management of the university, Office of the Mayor of Thulamela Municipality and Thohoyandou Police Station. The march was intended to submit a memorandum of concern and to call action from civil society, public institutions, and government to work together in addressing the high rate of crime targeting students.
Among other challenges that the University of Venda students want to be addressed is the issue of gender-based violence and rape that is embattled to the university students and other surrounding areas.
Univen SRC President, Gift Chauke outlined that students, political formations, social and religious formations and the province at large, are disturbed by the ongoing challenges women and children face in the country on a daily basis, and they want to declare that gender-based violence and the continuous slaughter of women must come to an end.
With such, students demand a provincial audit of gender-based violence reports and cases under various categories to identify the gap between the number of reported cases, cold cases, and number of prosecutions. An audit and review of every facility in the province to determine whether they are being utilised appropriately and exclusively for victims of gender-based violence and rape, all victim-friendly rooms at police stations must be functional with clear signage for victims.
“We also demand that all rape centres are revamped and fully functional and fully staffed including; a doctor, social worker, prosecutor, counsellor, a nurse and police officer for seven days a week, offering 24-hour service,” Chauke read from the memorandum.
Other concerns that were stipulated on the memorandum are robbery and break-ins in off- campus student residences that are located in areas such as Maungani, Ngovhela, Thohoyandou Golgotha, Thohoyandou P west and P east.
“The reluctance and hesitance of the university’s safety and security department together with the police department, to provide pre-active and re-active measures ensuring students’ safety has resulted in more crimes taking place in hotspot areas, and up to date, we have yet to see any preventative measures that have been put in place to eradicate or to combat crimes,” Chauke said while demanding police high visibility in hotspot areas.
Fuming students agreed that by 30 November they should have acted positively towards addressing the issues that were raised in the memorandum.
