As part of its activities to mark the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) will put efforts in educating young men about respecting women and making communities better and safe places.
The NYDA has learnt with shock the recent incident where a 15 year old girl was allegedly given a spiked drink and later gang raped by school mates.
NYDA Executive Chairperson Andile Lungisa says, “This has demonstrated the extent to which we need to educate the boy child about responsible behaviour. Furthermore, as the NYDA we expect the law to be very harsh in dealing with this incident and to send a clear message that our communities will not be a breeding ground for wayward and unlawful behaviour. We are also calling on key stakeholders to intensify programmes on educating males against violence.”
Commenting on the incident, Lungisa says it is highly unacceptable that an incident of this barbaric nature happened to an innocent young girl at a place where she is supposed to be safe. “It is beyond imagination what could have motivated school children to allegedly commit such a shameful act on another child. Schools should be places of safety for learners when they are away from their homes and the protection of their parents,” he says.
Lungisa says such incidents have no place in the South African communities, and as such the law must take its cause on the perpetrators. “Young people are the future of our country as such we expect only the best behaviour among them. They should instead dedicate their time to studying to become a generation capable of taking our country forward and not committing such crimes,” concludes Lungisa.
For media enquiries contact:
Siyabonga Magadla
Cell: 083 686 9016
E-mail: smagadla@nyda.gov.za
