Pretoria - Mental health and substance abuse are the main contributors to spiralling gender-based violence (GBV) in SA.
This was the view of Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) students who were attending a student dialogue and mass awareness campaign at the institution’s Soshanguve campus, hosted by the Gauteng department of health.
According to the department, the campaign was triggered by a concern raised by TUT Student Affairs, Health and Wellness Directorate, about the death of students at the university’s campuses and residences.
Students were encouraged to speak about their challenges and how they thought injuries and untimely deaths could be prevented.
Ayanda Hlongwane, a third-year Local Government and Public Affairs student, blamed mental health problems and substance abuse for the rise in violence on campus,
“My main reason for coming here is to see how we can deal with mental health. We as students are struggling with mental health where we have had several students committing suicide.
“This speaks to us that in all we do, we need to take a break. I have also learnt that there is nothing wrong in attending therapy if you have to.”
Thabang Lebepe, a graduate from the department of humanities who is studying towards an advanced diploma in technical and vocational studies, agreed with Hlongwne.
“We need to be taught about mental health so that when we go through challenges we are able to deal with them because many students encounter mental problems.” He added when he started his new job as a lecturer at the university he would take some of these teachings to his students.
The department’s director for clinical forensic medical services Mohau Makhosane said the campaign was aimed at curbing the rising occurrence of interpersonal violence on campus, adding that substance abuse and suicide were a big concern.
“We are dealing with prevention of interpersonal violence particularly in the form of GBV which may lead to substance abuse and mental health problems. But sometimes it's also a result of substance abuse and mental health problems.
“We deemed it necessary to undertake an exercise with TUT to dive deep into the issues to find out what are the underlying causes. We wanted to understand at a personal level what are the driving reasons for these incidents happening between students,” he said.
Pretoria News