Professor Relebohile Moletsane, holder of the Research Chair in Gender and Childhood Sexuality at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), is spearheading a national effort to address gender-based violence and safety within South African school environments. Her work, which gained national prominence following a profile published by Sowetan on 9 August 2026, combines academic rigour with grassroots engagement to influence provincial and national education policies.
Transforming Research Through Youth Agency
Moletsane utilises participatory visual methodologies, including digital storytelling and photovoice, to empower students to document and interpret the realities of their own educational experiences. By placing the camera in the hands of the youth, she shifts the traditional power dynamics of academia, allowing young people to articulate their challenges directly to policymakers.
The focus should always remain on the agency of young people and providing them with the platforms to articulate their own experiences.
This approach moves beyond abstract data collection, as it serves as a tool for advocacy regarding reproductive health and school safety. As an NRF-rated researcher, her contributions are helping to shape how the Department of Basic Education approaches the protection of learners from gender-based violence in classrooms across the country.
Broader Implications For South African Education
The significance of this work lies in its potential to create safer learning environments, particularly in under-resourced schools where gender dynamics often mirror wider societal issues. By integrating these research-led interventions into local schools, Moletsane is working to ensure that policy decisions are grounded in the lived reality of the learners themselves.
As of 12 August 2026, there are no further updates on the expansion of her research project into specific Western Cape school districts. CapeFlats.co.za will continue to monitor policy updates from the Department of Basic Education to see how these methodologies are being implemented locally.