DELMAS – On May 8, 2024, Khulisani Social Solutions successfully hosted an awareness campaign at Phaphamani Secondary School, to address substance and drug abuse, sexual harassment, bullying, cyberbullying, and the implications of crime records on Gender-Based Violence. Zamani Sibanyoni, a South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) men sector representative, explained more about the men sector duties. “The SANAC Men’s Sector is one of the 18 sectors of the National AIDS Council-SANAC and Civil Society Forum.
The sector comprises organizations that work with men and boys to address issues related to HIV, STIs, gender-based violence, femicide, and TB,” he explained. He further emphasized more on the men sector. “The sector elects representatives every five years to implement the National Strategic Plan for HIV, STI, and TB. The SANAC Men’s Sector emphasizes the importance of mobilizing men and boys in the country to address societal norms and the culture of violence that endangers the lives of girls and boys,” he emphasized.
Khangiwa Mokoena, a teacher and a School Base Support Team Chairperson, commented on the challenges they have with their learners. “The challenges we have are bullying, psychological issues, and other challenges caused by their family background. The most affecting challenge to learners is bullying because it changes their character and some start doing substance abuse, and when the character changes they no longer see us as their educators, they see us as their peers.
Even their school marks become affected by this bullying challenge they face,” she commented. Desiree Masuku, a Social Crime Prevention Officer in Delmas SAPS, emphasized the purpose of the campaign. “Our duty as Police is to protect the community and our children, there are a lot of illegal things happening in the schoolyard that disrupt the education process. For instance, if a learner is using substance abuse, he will have behavioural problems and be problematic in class. One social issue can lead to many problems in a school. Our work is to educate them on the social issues they see every day and to make a school a free and protected learning environment,” she emphasized.
