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08 December 2021 | Story Michelle Nothling | Photo Supplied
Lentsu Nchabeleng
Dr Ntheno Nchabeleng was appointed as the Deputy Director in the Gender and Anti-Discrimination Office within the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice.

A total of 10 006 rape cases were reported between April and June 2021. This is according to the latest SA crime statistics for the first quarter of 2021/2022. From a sample of 5 439 of these rape cases, 3 766 of incidents took place in the victim’s home or that of the rapist. A shadow pandemic of gender-based violence against our women and children is raging in South Africa.

It is within this global and local context that the Gender and Anti-Discrimination Office (GEADO) at the university is making inroads into supporting survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and changing gender stereotypes.

GEADO in focus

GEADO is situated within the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice on the Bloemfontein Campus. It is mandated to deal with incidents of unfair discrimination and GBV as it relates to the UFS community, and to conduct advocacy and training in these areas. Deputy Director of GEADO, Dr Ntheno Nchabeleng, explains that “through high-impact practices and interventions, the Office works to systematically reduce case attrition to ensure that all reports and cases follow procedurally just processes”.

GEADO has been established at all the UFS campuses with well-trained and fully equipped Senior Gender Officers leading each. Geraldine Langau—supported by research assistant Delisile Mngadi—is managing the office at the Bloemfontein Campus, Chelepe Mocwana the Qwaqwa Campus, and Sivuyisiwe Magayana oversees the South Campus office.

Addressing gender-based violence

Prevention and response to GBV are at the core of GEADO’s work. With our country wracked by sexual violence and femicide, “it has become a nightmare to be a woman in South Africa”, Dr Nchabeleng says.

Its preventative efforts focus on the underlying causes of GBV to transform patriarchal notions, misogynistic norms, power imbalances, and toxic gender stereotypes. Fostering collaboration with various strategic partners to strengthen its impact, GEADO recently started working with Amnesty International Sub-Saharan Africa and Amnesty International Latin America to spread awareness on various forms of violence experienced by vulnerable populations. GEADO has also partnered with other local stakeholders in an effort to eradicate GBV through programming that includes awareness campaigns, online mobilisation, training, and webinars.

Becoming part of the solution

“Become change agents,” Dr Nchabeleng urges. One way to start shifting attitudes and mindsets is to change the way we speak. Examples would be to refrain from sexist and discriminatory language and phrases that undermine and degrade our women. Gendered name-calling generally depicts women and girls as inferior and less than fully human. Another area of concern is the way young people — especially young men — engage in disparaging conversations about women on social media platforms. This behaviour needs to cease. As a society, we also need to stop victim blaming, stop normalising rape culture, and stop entertaining sexual violence jokes,” Dr Nchabeleng says.

These changes start with each of us.

Incidents of GBV and discrimination can be reported to GEADO at:
Bloemfontein Campus: +27 51 401 3982
South Campus: +27 51 401 7544
Qwaqwa Campus: +27 58 718 5431

Sexual Assault Response Team (SART):
www.ufs.ac.za/sart 
Toll-free number +27 80 020 4682

News Archive

Over 300 diplomas in Financial Planning Law awarded
2012-06-28

 

Adv. Wessel Oosthuizen, Director of the Centre for Financial Planning Law; Marilize Putter, top student in the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning Law, Jenny White, top student in die Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning Law and Prof. Rita-Marie Jansen, Acting Dean: Faculty of Law at the UFS.
Photo: Stephen Collet
28 June 2012

The Centre for Financial Planning Law (CFPL) in the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) awarded 342 Postgraduate and Advanced Postgraduate Diplomas in Financial Planning at this year’s graduation ceremony. The ceremony was held at the Sandtion Conference Centre in Johannesburg on 19 June 2012.

Some of the distinguished guests who attended were Dr Khotso Mokhele, Chancellor of the UFS, Dr Derek Swemmer, Registrar of the UFS, Prof. Nicky Morgan, Vise-Rector: Operations at the UFS, Prof. Helena van Zyl, Director of the UFS’s Business School, Prof. Rita-Marie Jansen, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Law and Adv. Wessel Oosthuizen, Director of the CFPL. The Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa, Mr Godfrey Nti, and the Chairperson of the Board, Mr Solly Keetse, were also present at the graduation ceremony.

Marilize Putter was named as the top student in the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning Law, with Jenny White the top student in die Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning Law.

The UFS remains the largest institution in this field. The UFS’s Centre for Financial Planning Law is also the only institution in South Africa that presents the Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning Law as a pure specialisation diploma.

Donors who made the event possible include:

  •  Craig Bentley of Alexander Forbes
  •  Dev Chetty of Liberty Life
  •  Henry van Deventer of Acsis
  •  Tessa Pappenfuss of Lexis Nexis
  •  Bertie Nel of Momentum

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