Pretoria, Tuesday 31 July 2018 – The Human Sciences Research Council with its partners Grassroot Soccer and Soul City Institute, through the Kwanele Project, will bring to the community of Khayelitsha the results of its Sexual Violence in Schools in South Africa (SeViSSA) initiative on Friday 3 August 2018.
Documents are available for download below:
The SeViSSA initiative aims to create safe school environments by dealing with violence against girls and is delivered through peer educators in Khayelitsha.
This baseline study presents a picture of the situation prior to the implementation of the project and will be used against which to monitor its progress.
Some of the key findings, which will be shared with the community, include:
• The baseline results revealed that violence is commonplace and occurs mostly in classrooms, on sports fields, or in bathrooms
• Intimate partner violence is widespread, the most common forms being (ranked): verbal threats, slapping, pushing/hair-pulling, hitting (with a fist or object), kicking, dragging, beating, choking, burning, threats with weapon
• Sexual violence also featured as a form of intimate partner violence
• While 41% of primary school learners experienced sexual violence in an intimate partnership in the 12 months preceding the study, the study also found that younger learners are less likely to report IPV.
Some of the key lessons which emerged from the study include:
• Primary school learners need more attention
• Educators must understand and engage with youth cultures and local understandings
• Harmful gender norms should be interrogated
• More research work must be conducted with this group
• A culture of silence normalises widespread violence
Media is invited as follows
Date : Friday 3 August 2018
Time : 11h30-15h30
Venue : Chris Hani High School, c/o Cekeca and Lansdowne Road
Macassar, Khayelitsha
Interviews can be facilitated with researchers on the project.
Notes to the Editor
About the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
The HSRC was established in 1968 as South Africa’s statutory research agency and has grown to become the largest dedicated research institute in the social sciences and humanities on the African continent, doing cutting-edge public research in areas that are crucial to development.
Our mandate is to inform the effective formulation and monitoring of government policy; to evaluate policy implementation; to stimulate public debate through the effective dissemination of research-based data and fact-based research results; to foster research collaboration; and to help build research capacity and infrastructure for the human sciences.
The Council conducts large-scale, policy-relevant, social-scientific research for public sector users, non-governmental organisations and international development agencies. Research activities and structures are closely aligned with South Africa’s national development priorities.
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For more information or to set up interviews, please contact:
Manusha Pillai
Mobile: 082 389 3587
Email: MPillai@hsrc.ac.za