A small step for women…

On Wednesday evening, UCT’s Student Representative Council (SRC) made the decision to suspend two of its representatives from the council, “pending an investigation into rape and sexual harassment allegations against them,” reports News24.

The decision was made at the SRC’s weekly meeting:

It said the allegations were taken seriously and efforts are being made to “strengthen the voice of the survivor and hold alleged perpetrators accountable”.

Reasons for the decision were explained in a statement:

The student who made the allegations against one of the accused reported the incident to the Pan Africanist Student Movement of Azania (PASMA), according to a statement from them.

Both students agreed to have consensual sex in the SRC member’s room in Liesbeek Gardens residence, said the statement. However, the student later told the accused that she no longer wanted to have sex with him.

“It is then alleged that the accused was unhappy about the decision and ignored the student for the rest of the evening. The student maintains that this was a form of manipulation to induce sex,” read the statement.

There are no details pertaining to the second SRC member.

The issue has now been referred to UCT’s Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Office, confirmed by an official statement from the university:

“We are highly concerned and take seriously the alleged incidents. UCT has services available to offer support to students involved or affected by these alleged incidents,” read the statement.

While no formal charges have been laid, let’s hope that UCT has amended their rape policy.

[source:news24]