326 pupils sexually assaulted
SACE calls for background check of school teachers
ATOTAL of 326 pupils have been sexually assaulted by their teachers between 2008 and 2016, and that is only the number of cases that were reported to the South African Council for Education (SACE).
This was revealed in SACE’s research report titled, “Factors and Environment Facilitating or Enhancing Sexual-Related Misdemeanour between Teachers and Learners”.
The alarming number of cases of this nature has prompted SACE to call for a thorough background check into a prospective teacher before allowing them into a school.
Earlier this week, SACE announced that all prospective teachers will have to undergo a vetting process where they will be required to produce police clearance.
Department of Basic Education (DBE) spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said the DBE welcomed the announcement.
“We welcome it as it is aimed at protecting pupils against predators masquerading as teachers. Any initiative aimed at ensuring the safety of our pupils is welcomed, especially if it’s legal,” said Mhlanga.
The report that looks into the teacher-and-pupil relationship, revealed that Gauteng province recorded the highest number of sexual assault cases at 67, followed by KwaZuluNatal at 64, 53 cases were reported in the Western Cape and in the Eastern Cape 27 cases were reported during this eight-year period.
According to the report, social media and text messaging such as Facebook and Snapchat have had a massive effect on the prevalence of sexual misconduct in schools.
“The number of teenagers with their own cellphones has ballooned. Almost 80% of youth between the ages of 12 and 17 years, own a cellphone, and 94% have a Facebook account. Classroom sexual predators have been exploiting these new, unsupervised modes of communication to develop improper relationships with pupils out of sight of parents and principals.
SACE spokesman Thembinkosi Ndhlovu said between March last year and March this year, 99 cases of sexual assault were reported in the country and 21 teachers were indefinitely struck off the roll of educators.
The research found that the factors and environment enhancing sexual misdemeanours were very complex to deal with and resolve due to the sensitivity of the matter between the victims being the pupils and perpetrators being the teachers. Some other findings include:
● That the alleged perpetrators use many intimidation tactics to undermine, vilify and belittle victims, such as labelling them prostitutes;
● Money was used to bribe and silence the victims or to promise parents or guardians that the perpetrator intends to marry the victim by paying an inhlawulo fine as an admittance of guilt, which later can be considered as lobola;
● Perpetrators were exploiting the plight of pupils, especially orphans and those raised by grandparents and aunts; and
● Financial incentives are also used to persuade victims to drop charges.