South Africans called to do more as 16 Days campaign kicks off
The South African Democratic Teachers union (Sadtu) says teachers cannot be expected to fight the scourge of gender-based violence at schools alone.
South Africa is observing 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children.
The teacher's union says it will use this year's campaign to educate and raise awareness around violence against women and children.
Violence in the education sector has been in the spotlight recently following an incident in North West, where a Grade 1 pupil from Dikeledi Makapan Primary School was stabbed to death by a 17-year-old boy from another school.
The union's general-secretary Mugwena Maluleke says all South Africans need to play their part in curbing gender-based violence.
"It's going to be what we do as a nation, what we do as individuals and collectively to ensure that we indeed highlight and make awareness so we can stand against violence against women and children. Only awareness and education can begin to change our attitudes and how we view each other as individuals."
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has called on the departments of Community Safety and Social Development to do more to ensure the safety of women and children.
The party's spokesperson on women, Stefani Ueckermann, says most women have lost faith in the police's ability to deal with gender-based violence.
"In most cases the victims are hesitant to report domestic violence to the SAPS , as they have lost faith in the ability of SAPS to effectively deal with domestic violence.
"We need police officers that are specifically trained to deal with gender-based violence and have a thorough knowledge of the legislative frameworks on gender rights and rights of child victims of crime."