Alfred Makhubela, Ntsako Mashaba and Ernest Mabasa
Several sexual assaults have been reported in various universities in South Africa. The main perpetrators are lecturers who take advantage of vulnerable underperforming students in search for marks to boost their academic records.
Reverend Ramokgadi of Tshwane University of Technology student Support and Development said female are not the only victims. He said that in most cases the weak are overpowered by the powerful of any gender. “Sexual assaults are mostly done by those who are powerful, either in positions or physic and doing it to the vulnerable it can be either male or female”, he said.
Ramokgadi emphasised that strong messages should be distributed for society and perpetrators to know that what they are doing is bad and eventually might stop abusing. He advices students to report sexual abuse to the relevant people.
Bandile Ngobese , a 3rd year Education student said that to avoid sexual abuse people should start by respecting themselves. “It all starts with respect, we should respect our selves. We should respect our bodies by dressing appropriately”.
A little over a month ago, the creaking floodgates that retained decades of secrets about alleged sexual predation at University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg strained. After a series of leaks, it was a story in a national Sunday newspaper that would see the mass spilling of a public shame. The academic institution celebrated for its research prowess and for producing four Nobel Prize Laureates stood accused of an unspeakable scandal.
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Related story links
http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2013/04/22/wits-sends-second-sex-pest-packing
http://www.wits.ac.za/prospective/studervices/ccdu/11490/sexual_harassment.html
