In his August opinion piece, Petersen highlights that close to 3 000 women are murdered in South Africa every year. He described the violence as a pandemic and indicates that about 110 women are raped every day, with one in three women experiencing abuse by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Petersen's comment comes as the country commemorates Women's Month in August. OFM News previously reported about stories where women and children were either raped or killed.  

In 2019, one of the students made headlines after he was arrested for sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend. The varsity also participated in one of the country's biggest protest by universities in South Africa dubbed the #AmINextMovement. This after several reports of femicide, particularly of students, shook the country.

The UFS rector and chancellor highlighted the recent statics announced by the police minister, Bheki Cele, a few months ago at the beginning of the lockdown.

"In the first three weeks of lockdown, more than 120 000 victims called the national helpline for abused women and children – double the usual volume of calls," he adds.

Petersen further adds that the country's educational institutions must focus on instilling a culture of respect in students and learners and further says that schools and institutions of higher learning have a vital role to play in administering it.

Petersen continues that two years ago, the University of the Free State (UFS) established a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) made up of business units across the university’s three campuses, "which works according to a set process flow to provide legal, medical, and counselling services to victims of gender-based violence, primarily aimed at minimising trauma for the victim."

The SART has been playing a significant role to support victims – and in this way, also easing the minds of families and friends of victims that the university do care and has processes in place".

OFM News