Dear Staff and Student Colleagues

“Why has what is so grotesquely abnormal, become normalised to us in this country?” Graca Machel at Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s International Peace Lecture, October 2012.

Former First Lady and University of Cape Town (UCT) Chancellor Graca Machel asked this question while delivering her speech at Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s International Peace Lecture, articulating the outrage and despair of many about what is regarded as the 'second pandemic' in South Africa — gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH). Sadly, 12 years later, GBVH remains the norm throughout communities, across genders and cultures in South Africa, and in both urban and rural communities.

It is estimated that nearly one in three women will experience GBVH in their lifetime, with adolescent girls at particular risk. GBVH is a criminal offence, a social ill and pervasive globally, with alarmingly high levels reported in South Africa, including at higher education institutions.

UCT has a robust policy of zero-tolerance towards GBVH, with a survivor-centred approach that shields survivors from any form of secondary victimisation, from the moment of reporting through to the closure of the case. The faculty has also been engaging with the province to establish a co-operative reporting, investigation and support mechanism to ensure that our staff and students have one direct process if they were to experience GBVH in the joint space.

Every year the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence and Harassment campaign begins on 25 November and ends on 10 December, International Human Rights Day. The world unites at this time to challenge attitudes on GBVH. As a faculty, we join those voices to say "enough is enough". I have been most conscious of the reality that in our faculty community — in our classrooms, offices, laboratories, fieldwork sites and community based platforms — there are spaces in which some may not feel safe or at ease due to the behaviours and actions of others on our campus, including those who choose to remain silent or complicit.

Over the last four years UCT has managed 25 cases which include sexual assault, (8 cases), sexual harassment (9 cases) and rape (8 cases). These cases have been managed by the Special Tribunal for Sexual Misconduct and perpetrators have been issued sanctions that have ranged from delivering an apology to being expelled from UCT, depending on the merits of the case. In our faculty, over the last year two students have been expelled and a staff member suspended.

What can we do to change this?

Over the 16 days, we in the Faculty of Health Sciences, together with the Office of Inclusivity and Change, will be embarking on the Behind You Periodt! Campaign, a drive empowering staff members and students to do something tangible: donate care packs to victims of GBV. Care packs are essential in the aftermath of a sexual assault. If you wish to participate in the Behind You Campaign, please email Undere Deglon at Undere.Deglon@uct.ac.za.

Beyond the '16 Days' Campaign, throughout 2025 you can participate in various activities to sustain awareness and share insights into how each of us can contribute towards making our faculty a safer environment. Expect to receive communications on these as they are confirmed. Already included in this 2025 calender are opportunities for training. An important step in empowering ourselves with tools is to complete UCT’s online sexual misconduct policy training course on GBVH. All staff and students can attend this 40-minute course, which is available in three languages.

Please click on the link of your choice: English  |  isiXhosa   |  Afrikaans.

Also featuring on the calender is the Gender, Health and Justice Research Unit's continuous professional development training on the Sexual Offences Amendment Act and the Domestic Violence Act. This addresses duties imposed on healthcare professionals regarding reporting of certain types of GBVH and explains the legal and other measures available to support patients, students and colleagues experiencing GBVH. The course can also be offered on request. Please contact Lillian.Artz@uct.ac.za for this.

I encourage you all to commit some time to these important initiatives. GBVH and genderbased bullying take countless forms and affect many of our staff, students, patients and colleagues. I implore everyone to begin 2025 with a more mindful approach to any behaviour and treatment which is offensive, harmful, discriminatory or degrading, and to speak up when witnessing this behaviour.

Let’s build a faculty where we normalise safety, respect and tolerance of difference in our spaces; and promote kindness, support and safety for those who disclose or report experiencing discrimination, harassment or any form of personal harm on the basis of their position, gender, race or sexuality.

Umuntu ngumuntu Ngabantu (I am because you are, and you are because I am)

Associate Professor Lionel Green-Thompson
Dean: Faculty of Health Science