By A Correspondent- Female students on industrial attachments are reportedly subject to se_xual harassment, the Ministry of Women Affairs, Small and Medium Enterprise Development has noted.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Beijing +25National Validation Workshop Meeting held in the capital yesterday, Deputy Director Human Resources in the Ministry of Youth Sports Arts and Recreation Maureen Dhliwayo said that the current situation is causing the female student to opt for se_xual abuse to benefit money.

“Considering the current situation, things are too expensive for them and when they come to workplaces for attachment, they are being abused to get money.

“Most of these attaches are not being paid and some are getting as little as RTGS100 which ends up having most of them being se_xually harassed but not noticing it,” said Dhliwayo.

She also noted that some of the students were being abused in return for petty favors.

“Some of these students are being abused and se_xually harassed because they are offered lunch by male counterparts.

“When these girls are being harassed, they don’t come forward because they think it’s correct, which is not correct,” she said.

Dhliwayo added that female students on attachment have a mentality that they are above 18 and are now adults but they are putting their lives in danger.

“It’s really difficult and challenging but we are not going to stop talking about it.

“We will keep on encouraging workshops to stop se_xual harassment and the issue of gender based violence,” she said.

She added that they will start working with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Small and Medium Enterprise Development to stop gender violence and se_xual harassment among students on industrial attachment.