Welcome to the 2nd Orange The World Interfaith Youth Summit!
This years theme is Youth Violence in schools: Uniting our voices against sexual harassment & bullying.
The extent of the problem in our schools
Sexual harassment is an unwelcome sexual advance, unwelcome request for sexual favours or other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature which makes a person feel offended, humiliated and/or intimidated or threatened. Harassment is conduct which annoys, threatens, intimidates, or causes fear in another person. The behavior causes a hostile environment. It can include derogatory comments, slurs, improper propositions, assault, physically impeding or blocking behavior, as well as visual insults.
According to the Basic Education Rights Handbook entitled Sexual Violence in Schools (2017, Paterson, K.) http://section27.org.za/wp-
Bullying is an intentional act that causes harm to others which can include verbal or non-verbal threats, taunts, physical attacks, blackmail, manipulation, or even extortion. An imbalance of power usually exists between the bully and the victim. Bullying at school can look like this: “Made fun of me or called me names”, “Left me out of their games or activities”, “Spread lies about me”, “Stole something from me”, “Hit or hurt me”, “Made me do things I didn’t want to do”, “Shared embarrassing information about me”, “Posted embarrassing information about me online”, “Threatened me”.
According to the Trends in International Mathematics & Science Study (TIMSS), South African Grade 9 pupils reported the third highest incidence of bullying out of 38 countries, behind Botswana and Thailand. The majority of Grade 9 pupils (47%) reported being bullied “about monthly” and 17% reported being bullied “about weekly”. “Of the countries who participated in TIMSS at the Grade 4/5 level, South Africa shows the highest incidences of learners being bullied on a weekly basis (44%). This is more than double the TIMSS international average,” according to the Human Sciences Research Council.