Content warning: This article contains descriptions of gender-based violence and homophobia.
A criminal case of assault has been opened with the Stellenbosch South African Police Service (SAPS) after a woman claimed to have been assaulted on Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Rooiplein on 28 August.
This according to Capt Nathalie Martin, spokesperson for Stellenbosch SAPS.
A case of assault has been opened with the Stellenbosch South African Police Service (SAPS) after a complainant alleged that she was assaulted on Stellenbosch University’s Rooiplein on 28 August. This is according to Capt Nathalie Martin, the Stellenbosch SAPS spokesperson. The offender allegedly engaged in physical violence and the use of discriminatory language, said Martin. *The person in this photograph is not linked to the article. PHOTO: Nakishka Skriker
The case is currently under investigation, Martin told MatieMedia via written correspondence.
The complainant, a student at SU, was at the Rooiplein when she told the offender that he should not speak badly about women; thereafter, the offender told her that “since she is a lesbian she does not have the right to talk to him like that”, claimed Martin. The offender then physically assaulted the complainant, resulting in a nosebleed, stated Martin.
Conflict on campus
The conflict began when the offender, who is also a student at SU, made romantic advances towards another woman, claimed the complainant via written correspondence with MatieMedia.
The offender attempted to take the woman’s phone and force her to go back to his accommodation, claimed the complainant.
An incident of assault is being investigated by Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Equality Unit (EqU) after a complainant reported the incident on 29 August, a day after it had occurred. This is according to Martin Viljoen, SU’s spokesperson. The complainant told MatieMedia that she lodged charges of gender-based violence, emotional and psychological damage, and physical violence with the EqU. PHOTO: Nakishka Skriker
The complainant also alleged that the offender strangled the woman and began to swear and say degrading things about women thereafter.
When the complainant intervened, the offender became increasingly aggressive, she claimed.
The case is currently also being investigated by the SU Equality Unit (EqU), according to Martin Viljoen, spokesperson for SU.
Unfair discrimination and harassment investigated
The EqU contacted the complainant on the day of the incident in order to provide information on how to report the incident, said Viljoen via email correspondence with MatieMedia.
The complainant lodged a formal complaint with the EqU on the following day, and an unfair discrimination and harassment case officer was assigned to investigate the complaint, said Viljoen.
The EqU is currently in the process of interviewing all relevant parties, he stated.
Both the complainant and “respondent” have been made aware of the free counselling services provided to students, he added.
“As a well-governed institution, SU feels strongly that the just course of the law and regulations must always be followed to protect the interest and rights of both victims and alleged perpetrators,” said Viljoen.
Investigations by Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Equality Unit are currently underway after an alleged incident of assault took place at SU’s Rooiplein on 28 August. This is according to Martin Viljoen, SU’s spokesperson. “The SU leadership is sensitive to the well-being of the entire student community and the impact such incidents have on our SU community,” stated Viljoen. *The person in this photograph is not linked to the article. PHOTO: Nakishka Skriker
Charges of GBV
The complainant said she laid charges of gender-based violence (GBV), emotional and psychological damage, and physical damage at the EqU.
“I am devastated that [the complainant] had to deal with a man of this nature […] but I am also incredibly proud that she felt empowered enough to challenge him verbally and tell him that his words and actions are not acceptable,” said Kim Conley, the founder and chief executive officer of the Amoyo Performing Arts Foundation, a non-profit foundation aimed at educational and social development.
The complainant joined the foundation in 2015, and Conley has been her mentor ever since, she said.