SMU is today hosting international visitors from the University of Nottingham – a UK based institution to crystallize the collaboration between the two Universities on Gender Based Violence issues.

Deputy Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth and People with Disabilities Professor Hlengiwe Mkhize lauded both institutions for the initiative.

In her address to those present, Prof Mkhize emphasised the need for collaborations among institutions as they serve as critical agencies of change. She further said that as a country, South Africa has done a lot of work in ensuring that progressive legislations are in place to deal with the scourge of Gender Based Violence, however decried the continuous presence of cases of date rape affecting young women in particular students as well as corrective rape mainly experienced by members of the LGBTQI community.

She further denounced the rising numbers of femicide and called for action by law enforcement agencies and encouraged victims to report the cases. ” A number of parents have lost their daughters in the hands of their lovers. In most cases evidence based information is required to successfully deal with such instances and I want to encourage institutions to get this right through research initiatives and understanding the dynamics of social phenomena as this will greatly help society”, said the Deputy Minister.

Speaking on behalf of the University, the Deputy Vice Chancellor responsible for Research Prof Ayo-Yusuf thanked the University of Nottingham for choosing SMU. He said collaborations are mutually dependent and appealed to more international partners to walk with SMU to make an impact in society.

The international visitors are hosted by the University Nursing Department and will be with the University until 12 July 2019.

By Phaladi Seakgwe