Some positive outcomes due to HIGHER HEALTH’s GBV interventions from 2022: 

In the last two (2) years Higher Health enrolled over 350 000 students across our Universities, TVET Colleges and CET Colleges in the Higher Health civic and health skills curriculum, in the GBV module.

These  continuous efforts to address GBV are evident in the number of students engaging GBV dialogues 316,048, where 119,316 went through GBV risk assessments, 18 994 have been considered as high risk for GBV; and 12 682 have been sent for GBV counselling.  

Many young people have opened up about their relationships and are seeking psychosocial and therapy interventions and support structures from Higher Health. The aim is to prevent a life from dying from toxic relationships and Higher Health’s screening tools help in identification and early stages and put in mechanisms in saving lives.

Support services for GBV victims are instrumental in providing necessary assistance and creating a safer and supportive environment on campuses.

The landscape of the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) sector

Sexual gender-based violence, and intimate partner violence are amongst the most prevalent forms of GBV in young women aged 16-25 years (UNICEF).  The Post-School Education and Training (PSET) sector is home to more than 2,5 million youth, with 51% being females.  10% Of all reported rape cases originate from young women in the higher education sector.  Sadly, only one in ten women report a rape case.

Within this challenging landscape, Higher Health, a pivotal agency of the Department of Higher Education and Training, emerges as a beacon of change. Over the years, Higher Health has tirelessly implemented robust systems, controls, and safety nets to combat the scourge of GBV within the PSET sector, an institution catering to over 2.5 million students across 26 universities, 50 public TVET colleges, and CET colleges.

Our institutions are part of the broader community and are microcosms of the larger society and therefore, it is hard to totally isolate from the Gender-Based Violence that stems from around us.

During August 2023, also known as Women’s month in South Africa, the launch of the Transforming MENtalities Summit left an indelible mark on 1500 attendees, with its powerful engagement and insightful discussions poised to pave the way for transformation needs for men and young boys.

The Transforming MENtalities Summit is based on UNESCO’s Transforming MENtalities Initiative launched in 2015 in Latin America and the Caribbean and later spread to a number of other countries.  We were the first in Africa to join this worldwide initiative and indeed a milestone for the Department of Higher Education and Training, HIGHER HEALTH and the Human Science Research Council (HSRC).

The aim of this multistakeholder campaign and partnership is to champion a world free of gender biases, stereotypes, violence and discrimination, by changing cultural and societal norms through policies, advocacy and capacity-building initiatives.

The Transforming MENtalities summit asked for Higher Health to develop more peer educators and champions across all our campuses, to work as change agents towards transforming MENtalities, more men dialogues across all institutions, incorporating gender studies including GBV, gender equality, gender diversity and transforming MENtalities as co-curriculum alongside the main curriculum in the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) sector.

However, we have no doubt that the impact of this campaign will go beyond the PSET sector, as our lecturers, staff, workers and students are also part of society, and should be encouraged to take the campaign into their communities and wider society.

Besides Transforming Mentalities, Higher Health recognizes the importance of gender diversity, gender orientation, gender identity, and related issues to the wellbeing of all individuals, especially to young and impressionable, like those at PSET institutions.  Higher Health works with students from the LGBTQ+ community, and supports them with their health and psycho-social needs.  We are equipped with mobile clinics, nurses, community health and wellness practitioners, psychologists and peer educators, to provide support to students, and arm them with knowledge to build their resilience.