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WENDY MOTHATA|
THE Section27 on Thursday took the Department of Basic Education to court for failing learners who survived sexual assault.
Section27 represents the Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children and the parents of two learners who were sexually assaulted while at school. The matter is on the unopposed roll at the High Court of South Africa North West Division, Mafikeng, North West.
One learner was allegedly raped by a school caretaker in 2015. Two years later, the same caretaker allegedly sexually assaulted that learner’s younger sibling.
Section27’s Patience Phiri said: “For years, no action was taken against the perpetrator, who continued to be employed by the School Governing Body (SGB) at the school and therefore continued to pose a risk to other learners at the school.”
“The parents of the learner reported the rape of their child to the school principal, but the alleged perpetrator was not disciplined or suspended. Because of this inaction, the same caretaker continued preying on minors and sexually assaulted their other child. The parents of the learners also tried to report this to the school, with no success,” said Phiri.
The 2019 Protocol for the Management and Reporting of Sexual Abuse and Harassment in
Schools states that school officials have a duty to report any suspected incident of sexual abuse
or harassment immediately.
However, Section27 said in a statement: “At all levels of the education system, authorities failed these
two learners. Section27 believes that the education authorities breached their constitutional
obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the learners’ constitutional rights and the
obligation to act in the best interests of children.”
– Inside Education