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CONVERSATIONS FOR WOMEN BY WOMEN

CONVERSATIONS FOR WOMEN BY WOMEN

In commemoration of Women’s Month and building up to the Annual Silent Protest that tackles Gender Based Violence (GBV), the Department of Student Counselling and Health, HIV/AIDS Centre at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) held a webinar titled: Conversations for Women by Women via Microsoft Teams, on Friday, 06 August 2021.

The facilitator was DUT’s Ms Anita Masinyane, a Psychologist based at the Student Counselling Centre and the interpreter was Ms Londiwe Ndaba.

Masinyane said considering that it is Women’s Month it is valuable to hear the voices and the experiences of women shared on the webinar. Defining Gender Based Violence, Masinyane said it is any harm that is perpetrated against a person’s will, which will have a negative impact on one’s physical, psychological health, development, as well as the identity of the person. She said the different forms of GBV includes intimate partner violence, which is violence perpetuated where there is an intimate relationship taking place, sexual harassment, stalking, rape, cyberbullying, physical assault and murder.

“DUT has a policy which talks about how we handle Gender Based Violence cases. This policy exists to help us understand procedures around reporting, how cases are investigated and how resolutions are reached. It also helps to create safer and confidential environments, particularly for reporting such complaints and promoting the safety of our students and staff. We work towards implementing prevention programmes and also raising awareness of these policies and how we work towards addressing the issues of Gender Based Violence,” said Masinyane.

She further made reference to the several victims of Gender Based Violence, some of who were part of the higher education system, particularly students. She said the platform would allow students and women in attendance to share how Gender Based Violence has impacted them, saying she is convinced that is has impacted them whether personally or through observations of family members or friends.

Thereafter, Masinyane allowed participants to openly discuss sharing their experiences on Gender Based Violence in a safe space that was created. A concern was also raised on the poor attendance, stating that some women still remain silent on such issues even though there are platforms created to provide relief and guidance.

HIV/AIDS Centre Manager, Mrs Thobile Zulu said in the previous webinar where they were speaking to men on GBV, it was raised that sometimes things are good on paper but there is a lack of commitment when it comes to enforcing these things.

“It makes me think, we are doing these webinars, raising awareness about issues women are facing when it comes to GBV. Do we have clear structures where students can go and report GBV? Maybe we also need to look at our response, how do we respond to the issues of GBV? Maybe people are saying there is no use of going to those webinars, we talk and there is no action,” said Zulu.

Sister Caren Jagessar from DUT’s Isolempilo Clinic also shared a presentation on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), which are terms used when talking about HIV exposure.

She said PrEP is a use of ARV’s by people who are HIV negative, to prevent the accusation of HIV before the exposure of the virus. She said PEP is taken after the exposure of HIV, for 28 days only whereas PrEP requires ongoing use as long as the HIV risk exists. Sister Jagessar urged students to consider these options, saying PrEP can be taken without anyone knowing and it will help prevent one from obtaining HIV. For more information and advice, she urged the students to contact the clinic.

The 2021 DUT Annual Protest webinar will be held virtually tomorrow, Wednesday, 11 August 2021 from 14h00 to 15h30. DUT is committed to fighting Gender Based Violence in the societies and this year’s themes are #EndGenderBasedViolence, #BreakTheSilence, #LGBTQI+_Lives_Matter and #BornThisWay.

This year’s event focuses more on student voices. Students will be
sharing their challenges, experiences, concerns around GBV in and around the institution.

Pictured: Gender Based Violence message

Picture credit: Google Images.

Simangele Zuma

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