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A pilot study conducted by students at the University of Johannesburg has portrayed a dim picture regarding students’ perceptions of emergencies and safeties, and suggests that a majority of students in the pilot study indicated a high likelihood for experiences of intimate partner violence, domestic violence, and a propensity to commit suicide.
The findings of the study were revealed at an event titled “Typologies of violence in higher education and the impact they have on culture”, which provided another platform for stakeholders to engage in the currently omniscient topic of violence, and gender-based violence in particular.
The panel hosted by the UJ Transformation Unit at the Chinua Achebe Auditorium in UJ Library on Auckland Park campus
Current articles featuring abuse committed by public features and leaders and public outbursts such as the recent #MenAreTrash streams on social media set the scene for the contingency that characterised the discussions that followed the presentations by the three panel members.
Philile Ntuni, representing the office of Minister Susan Shabangu, reflected on some of the dire statistics on the violence against women and the alarmingly low conviction rate and other factors perpetuating and cultivating violence against women, including “Blessers” and other forms of exploitation and victimisation.
The second speaker, David Maimane, a researcher at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, broadened the scope in his reference to violence following the #FeesMustFall protets that commenced in 2015, suggesting that the way students experienced violence during these events may have fuelled rather than diffused the already volatile climate of violence.
I shared the findings of a pilot study conducted by strategic communication honours students that portrayed a dim picture regarding students’ perceptions of emergencies and safeties, and suggesting that a majority of students in the pilot study indicated a high likelihood for experiences of intimate partner violence, domestic violence, and a propensity to commit suicide.
A central theme that emerged from all three speakers’ conversations was one of inclusion and exclusion and their consequences for society at last.
The students’ responses immediately picked up from a stance of incommensurable discourses, adopting the broader perspective of violence, rather than gender-based violence, as they experienced it.
Some of the students remarked that the prevalence of gender inequity remained unabated.
They indicated that financial exclusion was also a form of violence because students were exposed to vulnerable situations, following expulsions from university during this period.
It was clear from the various comments that race, gender, discrimination, insensitivity, inequity, and intolerance were issues that required further discussion.
From this perspective it has become clear that meanings relating to violence and gender-based violence could be best described as ever-shifting horizons of meaning that necessitate the shift from dialogue to polylogue, as proposed by the Mapungubwe Institute, so that multiple voices can be heard.
Professor Chris Landsberg, who directed the programme, commented that the continuous emergence of these issues underscored the role of education and the necessity for all stakeholders’ commitment to engagement in these topics.
• Dr Corne Davis is a senior lecturer at the department of strategic communication at UJ
