In a first for Rhodes University – which for years has been rocked by protests over gender based violence – a powerhouse academic has been appointed to come up with a strategy to combat violence within the university community.
The university announced on Wednesday that it had appointed Dr Zethu Mkhize as its first-ever harassment and discrimination manager.
She will work in the Directorate for Equity and Institutional Transformation.
According to Rhodes, the appointment was in response to recommendations made by its sexual violence task team.
Rhodes communications manager Veliswa Mhlope said Mkhize’s responsibilities would include transformation, advocacy and awareness-raising in respect of harassment, discrimination, sexual assault and violence.
“She is in charge of the coordination of all complaints and the development and monitoring of related policies, programmes and training,” Mhlope said.
She said Mkhize’s vision was for harassment, discrimination, sexual assault and violence referral processes within the university to be more clearly defined.
In 2006 Mkhize obtained a PhD from the University of South Africa, where she researched the role of social work in a child-headed household.
Before that, she obtained a master’s degree from the University of Zululand, where she also lectured for a number of years and was project manager for the institution’s HIV/Aids project.
Mkhize’s experience with students grew when she occupied the role of dean of students at the University of Zululand until 2015.
She said she believed institutions of higher learning presented complex life spaces for young people.
“The absence of a parental figure creates a sense of conflict for students as they balance their personal values with the family values that they have been subscribing to as they grow,” she said.
The Rhodes University student population was generally assertive and articulate, and her role was to provide a safe haven to those who had been wronged and to advise them about options going forward.
“In such situations, I assess not only what might have happened, but how the person feels and thinks about the situation,” Mkhize said.
“That would greatly help with facilitating the consultative sessions in relation to the refinement of processes.”
She has spent a lot of time training social auxiliary workers and has performed an active role in the empowerment of women. Mkhize has also worked with abused women, orphaned and vulnerable children, grandmothers who are raising their grandchildren, those affected by HIV/Aids, Aids counsellors, people with disabilities, and Teenagers against Drug Abuse.
“My expertise relates to being responsive to the psychosocial needs of individuals and any challenge that might interfere with their social functioning,” she said.
“Harassment and discrimination are two phenomena that upset a person’s rhythm of life within their living spaces [so] it is critical that intervention be offered immediately.”
Her goals include increasing the visibility of the directorate through the development of institution-wide interventions in response to harassment and discrimination issues.
Rhodes University vicechancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela said the institution was looking forward to Mkhize’s positive contributions.
Mkhize started in her new role on September 10.