Campaign Contents
- Introduction
- A guide for managing sexual violence
- Sexual abuse | FAQ
- Building community awareness
- Education Rights Handbook
Introduction
Acts of sexual violence continue to threaten the rights of many children across the country, infringing on their constitutionally protected rights to equality, privacy, dignity, safety and health.
When a child is or has been sexually abused in school, it particularly affects their access to and participation in their education.
Our work with schools continues to bring to light horrific cases of sexual violence in schools. It demonstrates the need for intensified advocacy campaigns to ensure that communities are given the knowledge to protect learners and, most importantly, that learners are equipped to protect themselves. It is for this reason that SECTION27 work with schools includes conducting workshops with learners which deal with managing and reporting sexual violence in conjunction with empowering learners of their sexual and reproductive health rights.
A guide for managing sexual violence
In response to the prevalence of sexual violence in schools, SECTION27, together with Lawyers Against Abuse (LvA) and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) have developed a guide on managing sexual violence to provide communities and learners with the knowledge on how to identify and report incidents of sexual violence.
Digital copies of the guide for managing sexual violence is also available in Sepedi and XiTsonga. Contact our office on 011 356 4100 if you need a copy of this handbook in Afrikaans, TshiVenda, SeSotho or IsiZulu.
Sexual abuse | FAQ
Sexual abuse presents itself in many different forms. It is important to recognise different types of sexual abuse and to understand the different processes that are involved in reporting abuse. The following animation is part of a series of animations developed by our team at SECTION27 on the topics on sexual reproductive health rights and sexual violence incorporating scenarios that reflect the experiences of learners we have worked in relation to SRHR and sexual violence in schools. Through this video, we hope to answer some of the questions you may have about sexual abuse. If you still have questions, you can contact us on 011 356 4100.If you still have questions, you can contact us on 011 356 4100.
Building community awareness
To learn more about sexual violence in your native language, you can listen to the SECTION27 podcast channel which features discussion on local community stations presented in the various South African languages.
Education Rights Handbook | Sexual Violence in Schools
In South Africa, schools are often sites of violence. As a result, there are laws and policies that are set out to protect while at school. Consult our Basic Education Rights Handbook Chapter on Violence in Schools to become more familiar with these important regulations.