13 rapes and two murders at Western Cape schools in three months

Two children were murdered at Western Cape schools while at least 13 people were raped at educational institutions in the province, according to the latest quarterly crime statistics.

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This was revealed at a media briefing last week, with police confirming that they had received 13 reports of rapes at places of learning between July and September this year. These included six girls and four boys, under the age of 18, along with three women.

These incidents occurred in the Mbekweni, Steenberg, Bredasdorp, Stellenbosch, Athlone, Mitchells Plain, Belhar, Kuils River, and Lansdowne precincts.

Police also confirmed the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old boy during a fight at Ikaya Primary School in Kayamandi and the strangulation of a four-year-old girl who was found at Paarl East Kleine Nederburg Primary School.

Over this period, police reported the murder of 55 children in the province along with 91 attempted murders ad 353 cases of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm opened for the same period.

However, according to spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) Bronagh Hammond, the department’s numbers differed from those of the police, as they were based on reports to the Safe Schools Programme.

Hammond said that the only fatality recorded by the department was last year when a pupil was killed in a gang-related incident after hours.

She stated that there had been 10 alleged rapes reported this year, compared to a single instance over the previous 12 month period, adding that teachers were subject to the SACE code of professional ethics, and the disciplinary and reporting procedures that follow as a result of any contraventions. 

The Employment of Educators Act further empowers  the department to take action against any staff member who engages in abusive behaviour.

“The department reports all cases of sexual misconduct to the South African Police Service and to the SA Council of Educators (SACE) if there is an educator involved,” she said. “We also then note them on Persal, the national register of public servants. Sexual harassment, sexual assault, and all other forms of abuse, are simply not tolerated in the WCED.”

Hammond also added that there were procedures to follow should a pupil report any abuse and that the province was the only one with a Safe Schools hotline for such cases.

The WCED have also implemented several curriculum interventions to educate learners about gender-based violence and sexual abuse.

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Picture: Cape{town}Etc Library

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