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Xhosa Student Association and GEADO host dialogue about gender-based violence

05 September 2023 | Story Nicole Bongo | Photo Supplied

GBV dialogue 2023 — The UFS Xhosa Student Association and Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Office joined forces to host a dialogue to enlighten students on combating gender-based violence.

The Xhosa Student Association at the University of the Free State (UFS), along with the UFS Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Office (GEADO) on its Bloemfontein Campus, recently hosted a dialogue titled ‘Aiding the Victim’, to educate students about what perpetuates gender-based violence, and inform them about UFS support services available to help fight GBV.

The discussion was held at the Education Auditorium on 25 August 2023, and students were challenged to pinpoint what GBV is and what it looks like. Balisa Nqambuza, Chairperson of the Xhosa Student Association and second-year BA student majoring in psychology and philosophy, said, “There is a need to have these tough conversations, as they provide insight on how to combat GBV in the future... We have had enough talks about the problem, and it is very important to start speaking about solutions that inform people of what they can do when encountering GBV.”

The event organisers said the dialogue was an opportunity for GEADO and the Xhosa Student Association to inform students about support structures within the university that provide help for students through free counselling sessions.

“The objective was to bring awareness about GBV victims amongst us, and how to assist them better, and to also highlight comprehensive approaches, as dialogues may discuss holistic approaches that address the multidimensional impact of GBV, including psychological, emotional, physical, and economic consequences,” said Pebetsi Kgole, a guest speaker and intern from GEADO.

In May 2023, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund reported a shocking rise in violence against women in South Africa, with 969 murders and 1 485 attempted murders recorded over this period. The UFS has put many structures in place to help in the fight against the scourge of GBV.

Other support services available include a sexual offense response team made up of GEADO, Protection Services, Kovsie Health, access to psychologists and social workers, and free services to help victims feel safe in a secure environment.

News Archive

UFS presents unique rally

2005-06-07

On Friday 10 June 2005, the University of the Free State (UFS) will present the Kovsie version of the Amazing Race in Bloemfontein.

The Amazing Rainbow Rally will be held in aid of children and babies with serious diseases in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences.

By raising the necessary funds, equipment can be acquired to meet the unique health care needs of these special patients. It will also enable the UFS to maintain the high standards of education, training and research in this field.

The Amazing Rainbow Rally will give some residents of Bloemfontein an opportunity to test their knowledge of the city, as well as their time management skills, communication skills, team work and even their relationships!

About 12 corporate teams from among others Vodacom, Eskom, Medi-Clinic, Mimosa Mall and Nedbank and four university teams must follow a specific route with various checkpoints by car. Here they will have to complete activities or solve clues before receiving their clue to the next checkpoint. Teams will be traveling with cars branded with the logo of the company they represent.

The rally will start at 09:00 at the Rooiplein of the UFS and will again end on the campus where they will complete the last task. The first team to complete this task is the winner of Bloemfontein’s first Amazing Rainbow Rally.

OFM’s breakfast team will do live crossings on the day to reveal how teams are doing.

The Department of Pediatrics and Child Health at the UFS serves children with special needs, in other words children who need intensive care, or who suffer from cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and conditions, endocrinological diseases or gastro-enterological conditions.

The Department provides secondary health care to more than 250 000 children in the southern parts of the Free State, but is responsible for the tertiary care of about a million children in the Free State and Northern Cape, as well as some parts of the North-West province, the Eastern Cape and Lesotho. The intensive care units at Universitas and Pelonomi Hospitals serve approximately 1 300 neonatal and 350 intensive care patients annually. The pediatric cardiology unit admits almost 300 high care heart patients per year. Approximately 13 000 out-patients visit these two hospitals every year.

MEDIA RELEASE

Issued by:  Lacea Loader
   Media Representative
   Tel: (051) 401-2584
   Cell: 083 645 2454
   E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

7 June 2005

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