Students at the Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape have called on police to act swiftly and arrest perpetrators of gender-based violence.
They say they are not safe and action is not taken when they report these cases.
This came out during the visit by Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Buti Manamela.
He addressed the South African Union of Students on the Mental Health Campaign and GBV Workshop.
One student says, “There is a need for more security on the campus, it can be enough, we need more of them to be safe.”
Another student says, “Male counterparts have a role to play in protecting us females and they should be aware of that.”
Manamela says institutions should ensure that students are protected on campuses by beefing up security and infrastructure.
He added that there should be structures formed to help students suffering from mental illness.
“We are hoping to work with student unions to fight GBV, to also deal with stigma on mental illness and to encourage the victims of GBV to report those cases, especially women.”
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