The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign commenced today under the theme: “Socio-Economic Rights and Empowerment to build Women’s Resilience against Gender-Based Violence and Feticide: Connect, Collaborate, Contract!”
Aligned with this year’s theme, the South African Education Project (SAEP) launches its Digital Literacy intervention with support from GrandSlots Corporate Social Investment to help migrate our most vulnerable towards economic participation, accelerate job market readiness and enable learners to pursue improved employment prospects post-matric through digital-led transformation and digital literacy in schools.
A study conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that schools and universities were highly vulnerable to Gender Based Violence (GBV). All these forms of violence, including bullying, should be conceptualized as gendered, as they are affected by gender-related stereotypes that persist in society.
School-related gender-based violence results in sexual, physical, and/or psychological harm to girls and boys. Studies show students who had experienced gender-based violence were more likely to report low school achievement and an increased school dropout rate compared to non-abused youth.
StatsSA’s General Household Survey (GHS 2021) revealed that close to 3% of 15-year-olds and nearly 9% of 17-year-olds dropped out of school in 2021. These high levels of dropout results in high unemployment. Despite the many interventions initiated by government, business and civil society to address youth unemployment, six out of 10 young South Africans between the ages of 15 and 35 are not economically active, and nearly two million young job-seekers are discouraged, having given up hope on finding a job. In the absence of educational qualifications or skills matching, transferable skills are a key aspect in determining employment.
Digital literacy is among the most sought-after skills in the job market today, however, learners in lower quintile no-fee schools do not have the necessary skills in digital literacy required to enter the mainstream economy post-schooling. This Digital literacy initiative will attribute towards alleviating the economic burden and promote access to economic opportunities for employment, learnerships / paid internships as well as improve prospects for admission to tertiary education.
SAEP programs operate in an area classified as a GBV hotspot with high GBV incidence and a high number of sexual assault cases reported. Our programs provide psychosocial support with qualified social workers who identify, counsel and refer cases for further intervention to mitigate the impact of GBV on learners’ academic performance.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Mr. Shane Everts, Head of Communications and Fundraising, South African Education Project (SAEP) 082 537 8721, shane@saep.org
Technical Education-related queries: Mr. Donavan Fullard, Chief Executive Officer, South African Education Project (SAEP) donavan@saep.org
MORE ABOUT SAEP A multi-cohort program promoting access and better education outcomes among children and young adolescents. www.saep.org
References
1 Nganga, M. (n.d.). Pandemic is said to have worsened challenges faced by scholars following the increase in 2021 drop-out rate figures. [online] www.iol.co.za. Available at: https://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus/news/pandemic-is-said-to-have-worsened-challenges-faced-by-scholars-following-the-increase-in-2021-drop-out-rate-figures-ea68545e-75a8-4685-a8e7- 04afc88b1303?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1658738009 [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022].
2 Maluleke, R. (2022). StatsSA Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) Q1:2022. [online] Available at: https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0211/Presentation%20QLFS%20Q1%202022.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022].
3 The Mail & Guardian. (2022). How to bring young people into the South African economy. [online] Available at: https://mg.co.za/opinion/2022-08-03-how-to-bring-young-people-into-the-south-african-economy/?utm_source=m%26g&utm_medium=m%26g&utm_campaign=op-ed [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022].
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