Gender commission slams university for ‘glossy’ report

The Commission for Gender Equality in South Africa has lambasted Walter Sisulu University for misrepresenting occurrences of sexual harassment on its campuses and presenting to a hearing on gender transformation a report lacking detail, writes Kgaugelo Masweneng for Times Live.

The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) is investigating gender transformation at tertiary education institutions to monitor progress; assess internal policies, systems and equality programmes; and the effectiveness of their strategies. At the hearing in Kempton Park on Tuesday, Walter Sisulu University Vice-Chancellor Professor Rushiella Songca reported no incidents between 2019 and 2023. However, in 2020 the university resorted to employing only female security guards at its residences after an incident in which a male security guard allegedly sexually harassed a female student at Buffalo City campus’s Potsdam site. The guard was arrested.

Dr Dennis Matotoka, CEO of the commission, with advocates Thando Gumede and Nthabiseng Sepanya-Mogale, as well as activist Ohara Ngoma-Diseko, characterised the Walter Sisulu University presentation as being like that of politicians rather than honest accounting officers. “You seem to be answering like a government department ... It’s too glossy a story for me,” said Sepanya-Mogale at one point.
Full report on the Times Live site