Lead researchers
Elisabet le Roux
“It was such a privilege to work with the student researchers. Their honesty, bravery and the way they look at the world inspire me.”
Dr Elisabet le Roux is Research Director of the Unit for Religion and Development Research at Stellenbosch University. She has over the past twelve years secured funding and delivered a range of evaluation and formative research projects in 24 countries across four continents, with a particular focus on gender equality, gender-based violence, women’s participation, and a critical lens on the important roles of religion and culture. For more on her research, click here or here.
Selina Palm
“I feel that so many important stories don’t get told because women are made to feel shame. Our amazing student researchers found ways to make complex experiences and emotions visible and audible to those who are willing to see and hear.”
Dr Selina Palm is a researcher at the Unit for Religion and Development Research at Stellenbosch University and an independent consultant and educator. She has worked in projects across 20 countries, focusing on intersectional approaches to child rights and protection, gender equity, gender-based violence and the participation of marginalised groups. She is a feminist scholar who takes a critical lens to engaging religions and cultures for social transformation. She has also worked as a practitioner across the African continent for over 15 years. For more on her research, click here or here.
Collaborators
Olivia Ezeobi
“The poet Audre Lorde’s words ‘When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard nor welcomed, but when we are silent we are still afraid, so it is better to speak’ are words I aspire to. Being part of this project made me feel I am a (small) part of giving voice to women on campus.”
Olivia Ezeobi is a lecturer and PhD candidate in the Department of Economics at Stellenbosch University. Her research interest is in the intersectionality of gender, race and class, and she is passionate about bringing the voices of more women of colour to feminist and economics literature. Her first book, co-edited with Prof Amanda Gouws, Covid Diaries: Women’s Experience of the Pandemic, was published in June this year.
Louise du Toit
“Mentorship turned into friendship as I relearnt about the hazards women students face when negotiating campus life.”
Prof Louise du Toit is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Stellenbosch University and Head of the Unit for Environmental Ethics within the Centre for Applied Ethics at the same department. She has published widely on sexual violence, feminist theory, and political philosophy, including a monograph from Routledge (2009), A Philosophical Investigation of Rape: the making and unmaking of the feminine self. For more on her research, click here.
Amanda Gouws
“It is imperative that we expose the very insidious nature of rape culture at tertiary institutions. This project contributes to do it in many important ways.”
Prof Amanda Gouws is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Stellenbosch University, where she holds a SARChI Chair in Gender Politics. She holds a PhD from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in the USA. Her specialization is South African Politics and Gender Politics. Her research focuses on women and citizenship, the National Gender Machinery and women’s representation and gender based violence, areas in which she has published widely. She was a Commissioner for the South African Commission for Gender Equality from 2012-2014. Read more on her work here.
Priscalia Khosa
“Given my secondary role within student communities, I was inspired to take part on this research project by critical conversations students had following the rise of Anti-GBV movement in SU.”
Priscalia Khosa is a lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Her fields of research include social work supervision, social work education, social policy, substance abuse and gender dynamics. She coordinates social work practice education for first year students and supervises masters’ students research on gender-based violence, school social work and medical social work, among others. Apart from her academic role, she is a residence head of one of the female residences at the University. For more on her research, click here.
Stella Viljoen
“I am interested in what this project can teach us about the way male students are thinking about, engaging and resisting campus rape culture as political phenomenon.”
Prof Stella Viljoen is an Associate Professor in Visual Studies at Stellenbosch University. She has a master’s degree in History of Art and PhD in Media Studies. She has written widely on representational cultures and how these index gender norms and political aspirations. Her interest is in the capitalist imagination. She is also a fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study.
Administrative assistant
Jaylee Gertse
“My motivation for being involved was the greater impact I can see the project creating. As I transcribed the voice notes I could see connections emerging between them. It made me think about what impact coming to SU might have on new students. This project enabled important conversations to take place in safe spaces and can help women know that they are not alone.”
Jaylee Gertse worked as a student assistant on the project, assisting with the administrative matters of the project. She is pursuing full-time post graduate studies at Stellenbosch University and in 2020, she completed her final year of a theology degree, with a specialization in youth and children. Ms Gertse actively advocates for mental health, social justice, equality and education.