Alarm at sexual violence at schools

Statistics reveal scale of teachers’ misconduct

A REPORT into teacher misconduct at schools has revealed that KwaZuluNatal has the highest number of sexual offences against pupils, alongside Gauteng.

According to the report, 128 cases of overall misconduct were reported in KZN, 21 of them sexual cases. Thirty-six were related to verbal abuse, harassment and defamation.

The report further revealed that teacher regulatory body, the South African Council of Educators (Sace), is looking into 633 misconduct cases across the country.

In its annual report for the 2018/19 financial year tabled in Parliament yesterday Sace said these cases were under investigation and others completed.

Out of these cases, 93 were for sexual assault and rape. “The highest forms of incidences of unprofessional conduct reported against educators revolves around corporal punishment and assault with a total of 295 cases followed by verbal abuse, victimisation, harassment and improper conduct, use of improper language, alcohol abuse, absenteeism, insubordination, defamation and intimidation in a tie of 141 incidences,” read the report.

“Sexual misconduct, rape, indecent assault, sexual assault incidences are also scoring high with a total of 93 cases.”

The other 62 cases related to fraud and theft, with the report saying 11 cases related to racism.

In the Western Cape, there were 269 cases investigated, with 173 related to corporal punishment and assault. Sace said 15 cases were for sexual misconduct.

In Gauteng, there were 152 cases investigated by Sace, with 28 related to verbal abuse and harassment and 21 for sexual misconduct.

In the Eastern Cape, there were 47 matters probed by Sace, with 15 cases for corporal punishment and assault. There were also 11 cases of sexual misconduct that were investigated.

In Limpopo, there were 29 cases investigated against the teachers, with 10 cases related to corporal punishment and assault. There were nine cases of sexual misconduct.

Sace investigated 30 cases in North West, with 13 related to verbal abuse, victimisation and harassment and four of sexual abuse.

In Mpumalanga, there were 37 cases under investigation, with 14 of corporal punishment and two of sexual misconduct .

In the Free State, there were 56 cases. Sixteen were for verbal abuse and harassment. Eight cases of sexual violence against pupils were recorded.

Reacting to the statistics, the Commission for Gender Equality said teachers were not being held accountable for engaging in sexual relationships with pupils.

The commission’s Tamara Mathebula said Sace had not been able to combat the scourge of gender-based violence in schools. She said it had called a meeting after a spate of sexual violence in schools perpetrated by fellow pupils and teachers.

“We had done a summation of sexual violence across schools in Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, the Free State, KZN, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the Northern Cape and North West. There is an extremely high rate of sexual violence in schools across the country.

“We found that there were high numbers of pregnancies as a result of inappropriate sexual behaviour which leads to girls being unable to complete their schooling, sexual harassment perpetrated by teachers against pupils and among teachers,” she said.

Mathebula said it was shocking to note that schools were unsafe spaces, as the majority of these offences took place at school, even during school hours. She added that victims of sexual violence were both males and females.

She said they found that pupils’ families were being paid off to keep quiet when the girl fell pregnant by a teacher.

“We were told that families are paid up to R20 000 and in some cases principals, other teachers and school governing bodies were keeping quiet about these issues. For this reason, we believe that Sace has no bite,” she said.

The National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa said the statistics were shocking and disturbing.

“These are serious offences that are not frivolous and by no means can teachers say they were not aware that their conduct was not only criminal, but also violates the Sace Code of Conduct. It is further a disciplinary offence.

“These teachers will face the consequences on three levels.

“They also run the risk, if found guilty, of being included on the Sexual Offenders register.

“As stakeholders we must not be reactionary, we must be proactive and get the message out there that the consequences of such conduct will be harsh and the possibility of dismissal is real,” Naptosa’s Thirona Moodley said.

KZN Parents Association chairperson Vee Gani said while he had not seen the report, he believed the cases were only the tip of the iceberg.

“Many are not reported to Sace at all. “This is because parents raise issues about assault and verbal abuse and then become reluctant to take the matter further as they fear that their children will be victimised,” he said.

Gani said generally only one in six parents would report the matter and the teacher would apologise and that would be the end of the matter.