Female students take a stand against GBV this Women’s Month

The national Adoozy INpowered personal protection campaign, which is a response to the GBV crisis in the country, kicked off Women’s month by hosting its second workshop of 2023 on 03 August, with the female students of the University of Pretoria (UP). The free workshop empowered females with safety knowledge and the physical ability to fend off predators so that they can feel safer within their communities. Earlier this year, Pretoria was ranked the most dangerous city in Africa.  

“Our safety programme targets young females who are vulnerable to high levels of crime and gender-based violence. We’ve previously worked with ladies in a Johannesburg township as well as KwaZulu-Natal, where murder and rape is at an all-time high. Pretoria has been on a downward spiral with its crime levels climbing year on year, so if we can make young females feel even a little bit safer in their environment, then we’ve hopefully made a difference to their quality of life,” Mathabo Sekhonyana, Head of Marketing & Communications at Adoozy Power. 

The mobile power company partnered with INPowered in November last year during 16 days of activism to launch a national campaign to roll out to universities and schools across the country. The personal protection workshops empower women with choices if they find themselves in dangerous situations. And instead of teaching traditional self-defence training, which requires long hours of training if it’s to be effective, it teaches one, but critical life-saving defence technique. Further to this, the workshop encourages women to use their voice. 

Mark Grobbelaar, the founder of Women INPowered and workshop facilitator says “We structure the Adoozy INPowered workshop in such a way that the participants don’t only feel physically INPowered, but mentally too. There’s so much stigma around speaking up or feeling like there’s permission to hold your own space.” 

Captain Shongwe who heads up student safety and security at UP informs that safety amongst females on and off campus is an ongoing topic of concern. “While we do everything we can on campus to make the students feel safe, we know that there is a huge problem when it comes to gender-based violence in the community. What’s worse is that research conducted by our own UP experts shows that a lot of people don’t even report these crimes because they don’t trust the police. We’ve put a reporting mechanism in place for UP students who are victims of GBV or harassment. They can report incidences through the transformation office which is accessible on their UP portal.” 

Research conducted by Adoozy Power with past workshop participants this year revealed that over 65% of the young females had or know someone that has experienced GBV but the case had not been reported. In their 2022 research amongst young women, 23% had felt unsafe over the past week when they were out of their homes, and 33% had felt unsafe within the past month. 50% of the respondents said they did not know how to defend themselves if they needed to, and more than 55% said they were unsure of the warning signs they should look out for in a potentially threatening situation.  

“The fact that young ladies aren’t sure of warning signs to look out for is a big red flag for us and one of the focus areas of these workshops. The programme helps them to develop their awareness of the different layers of safety as well as guides them on the positive impact of having boundaries and self-worth,’ says Sekhonyana. 

A 6th Dan in Karate, Grobbelaar concludes, “Over 13 000 women were victims of assault last year. This women’s month, we want to tell a different story. One that celebrates the strength of females and their courage to fight back. Enough is enough, that’s the story we want to tell.” 

If you or someone you know has been a victim of GBV, please call the 24-hour Gender Based Violence National Commence Centre on 0800 428 428. 

Download the Adoozy app for free access to safety tips as well as toll-free crisis numbers 

Download the Rapido24 INPowered app, an emergency mobile app that directs users to a control room in the event of a security or medical emergency