The increase in incidents of university students who are said to be living with trauma has prompted the South African Union of Students and other organizations to do something about it.
On Friday at Blue Water, Durban, this organization in collaboration with Wear Your Brand officially launched a conference to be held in June which will be aimed at raising awareness of students living with trauma but in silence.
It has come out here that these students get trauma, in different places which can be in their homes, relationships and other places.
The Chairman of this organization, Mr. Quinton Oliphant stated that this conference involves three higher institutions namely Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT), University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) and Durban University of Technology (DUT).
He said they don’t have an exact date yet, but it will be hosted by one of the above institutions.
He said that according to the research they have done, they found that there are many students in institutions of higher education who are abused in different ways. He said that is why they thought it best to organize this conference.
He said that its main purpose is to discuss in detail the strategies that can be used to deal directly with this situation.
He said that they would be making a big mistake if they were to keep quiet and fold their hands when things went wrong.
What worries them the most, he said, is that these incidents appear to be more severe for women. He said that is why they called this conference the GBVF Summit.
”We shouldn’t be silent, but every time there is a bad situation, it’s good to stand up,” he explained.
He stated that there will also be a race in Thekwinin which will be aimed at warning about this scandal. He stated that soon it will be open for those who want to be part of the runners.
Ms. Nomasina Zulu who is the President of the Wear Your Brand organization said that they were very happy to be part of the organization of this type of conference.
He said that they would also be happy if there is a role they can play in something being done about the abuse of students in higher education institutions who are said to be living with trauma.
”The truth is that this does not only need certain people but instead you need everyone to be a part of it. We are also committed to doing something about this,” he said.