CAMPUS SAFETY: Universities have policies to protect GBV victims, experts say, but not the will

The recent sexual violence case at Cornell University in the US has highlighted campus safety issues. With this year marking a decade since Rhodes University students named 11 male students accused of sexual assault and rape, Daily Maverick looks into how South African universities are grappling with effective ways of dealing with sexual assault cases.

In 2016, the anonymous list accusing 11 male students of sexual assault sparked widespread protests. Students condemned official reporting channels as bureaucratic and biased toward the accused. Demonstrators highlighted how survivors were forced to share classes and residences with alleged abusers during lengthy proceedings.

Speaking to Daily Maverick last week, feminist activist and Archive Amabali Wethu NPO founder Yolanda Dyantyi, who was involved in the Rhodes protest and was later banned by the university before an appeal court overturned that decision in 2022, says that those facing rape allegations should be suspended from academic activities while internal disciplinary proceedings are under way.

“I’m of the view that those who have allegations of rape levelled against them should be suspended from academic activities pending the outcome of the internal disciplinary process. The burden of the crime should not be carried alone by the victim,” said Dyantyi.

Dyantyi cautioned against treating university disciplinary systems as substitutes for criminal investigations. Drawing on her experience of university disciplinary proceedings, she questioned whether these institutions had the expertise and resources to adequately investigate serious allegations.

“Universities should and are able to develop their own regional context-specific policies that speak to their immediate environments, that speak to the needs of that particular institution, college, university. The point is, it’s a lack of political will,” said Dyantyi.

Policy changes

Daily Maverick asked Rhodes University about the changes to its policies and how it responds to GBV cases. University spokesperson Olwetu Gwanya said the university recognised the importance of protecting students in sexual harassment cases.

“The University has established policies and procedures to address such matters, including a comprehensive Sexual Offences Policy for students. As the university, we are committed to ensuring that allegations reported to the institution are dealt with through the appropriate processes.

“The university does not condone GBV or sexual harassment and requires all reported cases to be handled in accordance with its policies and applicable procedures,” said Gwanya.

A task team has reviewed Rhodes University student sexual offences policies. Daily Maverick found that current policies replaced general harassment rules with a dedicated Sexual Offences Policy. Centred on prevention, prosecution and care, the policy legally commits the university to prioritising survivors’ safety over traditional hearings.

Nelson Mandela University case

In 2025, Daily Maverick reported on the death of Sesethu Mboza, a second-year Nelson Mandela University (NMU) Bachelor of Arts student, who took her own life at her off-campus residence after she was allegedly raped by a fellow student on 26 September 2025.

On Thursday, NMU spokesperson Zandile Ngwendu told Daily Maverick that several interventions had enhanced the gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) response, partly guided by the inquiry into the Mboza matter.

“Relevant policies have undergone extensive revision, aligned even more tightly with Higher Health protocols and guidelines, while awareness initiatives about available support services and institutional response mechanisms have been strengthened... Cases referred for formal disciplinary processing are being set down within five days of referral, improving the timeliness of this stage of the process,” said Ngwendu.

Partnerships with SAPS, Metro Police, the Department of Justice, private security providers and Neighbourhood Watch structures had been strengthened, she said.

Commission findings

In 2025, the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) reported to Parliament that most universities had gender-based violence and sexual harassment policies, but implemented them inconsistently, and only five had sent audit updates. Of the three universities in its study, including NMU, the report found that investigations were slow, weak, and charges were sometimes drawn up but not served during exams to allow accused students to finish.

Daily Maverick spoke to advocate Nthabiseng Sepanya, who presented the commission’s findings in 2025. She said the issue was oversight and implementation: “It’s one thing to have a policy, but if it gathers dust, it’s pointless.”

Sepanya said universities needed interim measures to protect complainants while cases were being investigated or heard in court. There had to be interim protocols, she said, arguing that the burden of alternative arrangements should fall on the person accused of causing harm, rather than the complainant.

This question is currently being tested in the United States, where New York lawmakers are renewing a push to change the state’s sexual assault laws after prosecutors said the law made it hard to press charges in an alleged gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity house, because the state did not treat someone who willingly drank as incapacitated.

Policies and gaps

Daily Maverick spoke to researcher on gender-based violence Dr Lisa Vetten, who pointed to the Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET’s) framework for addressing gender-based violence in the post-school education and training system.

Vetten also indicated gaps in sector-wide monitoring. “We don’t as yet have data from every university regarding how many complaints they are receiving, and I think that’s a gap that needs to be addressed.”

Speaking on how to foster accountability, Vetten said universities needed to be held accountable for how they handled gender-based violence complaints, including reviewing cases in which institutional responses failed.

“Whenever there is a failing, or something goes wrong, it is important that there is the necessary review or inquiry to understand what it was that went wrong, to learn what to do better next time,” said Vetten.

Higher Health

Daily Maverick’s questions to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) were referred to Higher Health, the sector’s health and wellness agency.

Spokesperson Nashveer Nemesar said the agency had developed protocols on rape and sexual assault cases, and on safety in residences and private accommodation.

It had trained 5,814 staff, including campus security and deans of students, after the Gender-Based Violence Technical Task Team was established in 2020. But “currently these protocols are voluntary”, while the agency wants them to be made directives. 

Funding is a massive challenge, according to Nemesar. “Funding weaknesses do limit the programme implementation. However, Higher Health is lobbying with DHET on a lot of private sector funds and other partners by finding ways to build more peer education movement. Like, we had funding for HIV, we don’t have much funding for GBV,” said Nemesar. 

Daily Maverick also questioned the DHET on whether it had allocated a budget for GBV following the national disaster declaration. No response was received.

Meanwhile, Vetten noted that the DHET sometimes pays NSFAS late, and that changes to the scheme meant universities could not always vet the accommodation it funded. “The DHET has to come to the party,” said Vetten. DM