Annual Report:
2001/2002

Youth Programme

"South Africa's youth are a key constituency in the development of a democratic society. Understanding the factors beyond poverty and umemployment that render them vulnerable to the experience of and perpetuation of violence are crucial issues facing the youth sector."

Dorothy Mdhluli, Programme Manager

The impact of safety work in schools has been to reduce the pervasiveness of violence and to sustain the support structures currently addressing crime and violence in schools. A priority for 2002 will be consultation with the different Provinces on Safe Schools' strategies, as well as the implementation and improvement of the model.

Goals

The restructuring of the CSVR in 2001 shifted the focus of the Youth Programme to violence prevention and the creation of opportunities for youth to manage their vulnerability to violence by building their resilience.

The rationale behind youth work undertaken by CSVR is:

• Given the high levels of violence in South Africa, the majority of youth are vulnerable to violence, as either victims or perpetrators.
• Youth are a marginalised group in society and, therefore, require special support.
• Youth are a significant force in creating a future of non-violence and reconciliation.

Strategies

The development of best practice models facilitates the integration of research, education and intervention to create a safe society for youth. Schools are a key access point to youth and provide institutional support that ensures the sustainability of potential interventions. Other avenues used to access youth are prisons, churches and informal groups such as youth clubs. The Programme also attempts to target individuals not attached to any social grouping.

Highlights

Forty Safe Schools

In thirty-eight of the forty Sowetan schools participating in the CSVR's Safe Schools project, the following were achieved:

• A support service comprised of trained educators who are able to respond effectively to issues of trauma, violence, abuse and conflict in a professional manner was established. The success of this programme was brought to the attention of the MEC for Education in Gauteng who suggested that a number of the educators in this project be seconded to shape the provincial policy for safety in schools.
• Trained learners, with peer counselling, conflict mediation and leadership skills, were involved in driving the safety campaigns in their respective schools. This was implemented through the involvement of other learners and by challenging the apathy of the educators.
• Safety teams of educators, learners, parents and police were formed. Their brief was to drive programmes aimed at ensuring safety on school premises.

Strong relationships with other schools and the neighbouring community facilitated the sharing of experience, resources and information regarding possible threats to the schools. An incident at Busisiwe Primary School, in Zola, exemplifies the strong relationship between the various stakeholders. An armed robbery occurred at the school, resulting in the unnecessary death of the school caretaker. Members of the community, the school governing body and the police joined forces in attempting to solve the crime. This joint effort resulted in the recovery of all the school's equipment.

Encouraging incidents such as these enabled the development of an intervention model and policy formulation that is now widely used by schools. A manual, "PHEPHA", meaning "be safe", delineates how to initiate and maintain safety programmes in partnership with neighbouring schools. Through the Programme's endeavours most schools in Gauteng have been exposed to the model, with the exception of schools in the Far East Rand. Education Departments in other provinces, such as the Eastern Cape and Limpopo Provinces, have consulted the CSVR regarding the possible implementation of the model.

Sexual Violence in Schools

Research conducted in ZOJAZEM (Zola, Emdeni, Jabulani and Zondi in Soweto) High Schools in March 2001, supports the highly publicised findings of the "Scared at School" report tabled in Parliament by Human Rights Watch. As indicated in the report, the majority of learners lack supportive relationships with their parents (or caregivers) or the school personnel. This deficit coupled with learners' lack of understanding of existing police protocol regarding the reporting of sexual offences exacerbates the situation in schools as described in Human Rights Watch's report.

Learners and educators strongly recommend ongoing work to equip existing school structures with appropriate skills to effectively and sensitively manage sexual violence. The Education Department is expected to play a principal role in the formulation and implementation of policies to curb sexual violence in South African schools. Despite this, there is a need to create strong working relationships with the police who will be requested to educate the school community about the protocols of the Criminal Justice System and crime prevention strategies.

'Safe Start' for Marginalised Youth

Matriculants who do not qualify for entry into tertiary institutions find it extremely difficult to gain access into the job market and, therefore, resort to criminal activities in order to survive. These "marginalised youth" (unemployed, out of school youth) and their supposed role in increasing crime have dominated popular thinking. The 'Safe Start' pilot project equipped thirty such marginalised youth to offer at-risk learners life skills and teach them to respond constructively to violent situations. The impact of the project was to reduce the pervasiveness of violence and to sustain the established support structures currently addressing crime and violence in schools. This project, additionally, provided clear evidence that youth are equipped to initiate and run violence prevention programmes in their communities with minimal or no support from the CSVR.

Challenges

The stakeholders (educators, learners and parents and other community members) involved in youth programmes face the following challenges:

• There is seldom official recognition for educators, who are expected to coordinate support structures in addition to their extensive teaching responsibilities. The work involved in these programmes is highly stressful and may cause secondary trauma. This is exacerbated by difficulties encountered by educators in their ability to ensure that they receive adequate emotional support for themselves or 'self-care'.
• As the priority of parents is finding employment, parents regularly withdraw from a programme before its completion. This makes careful planning of goals a cumbersome exercise for the coordinators of the programme.
• The unsettled nature of youth hinders the provision of consistent services to schools. This fails to fulfil the needs of at-risk learners who depend on consistent support to enable growth and to rebuild their trust in others.
• In poor communities, financial compensation is often expected for voluntary services, but cannot be provided.
• Strategies for withdrawal of programmes from communities are difficult to negotiate as people become dependent on the programme and often lack the confidence to drive programmes independently. Additionally, there may be few other available resources in the particular community.

Future Directions

• The Programme, to maximise impact, rationalise resources and improve efficiency, will coordinate the various CSVR programmes targeting youth.
• The Programme will consolidate the CSVR's work on racism in schools, formerly initiated by the Education and Media Unit.
• A pilot programme, exploring the impact of HIV/AIDS and its relationship to violence, as well as ways of building social support networks for affected communities, will commence in 2002.
• Another important feature of 2002 will be consultation with the different Provinces on Safe Schools' strategies, as well as the employment and improvement of the model.
• The findings of the Sexual Violence Research in schools will be translated into a programme aimed at helping schools develop appropriate mechanisms to deal with the disturbing problem.

Gender Programme