29 March 2001
The Ministry of Education welcomes the report of Human Rights Watch on sexual violence against girls in South African Schools. This is a matter of great concern to the Ministry and the report rightly focuses the attention of the entire country on this matter.
We have been particularly concerned that failure to put in place a deliberate programme to address this matter would compromise not only the security and safety of female students but their right to education as well. Accordingly, during the last three years, the Ministry has embarked upon a number of initiatives dealing with issues of sex-based and gender-based violence in our educational institutions. The Human Rights Watch report is of immense help to us since it provides an outsider's view on where the problems are while it offers clear recommendations on how these can be addressed. We are therefore studying the report closely and we are considering how the recommendations can be taken up to strengthen our programme.
In 1998 the Ministerial Gender Equity Task Team, established to advise on gender equity in education addressed in its report sexual violence prevention and made wide-ranging recommendations which includes the need for a focused attention of gender equity in the curriculum, the monitoring of all violence against girls and women in education institutions and ensuring that disciplinary procedures are not only in place but are being implemented with respect to both learners and educators.
Life skills for sexual abuse prevention
Accordingly, our first initiative to address sexual abuse prevention was to introduce it in the Life Orientation/Life Skills Learning Area within Curriculum 2005 through developing in learners the skills, knowledge, values and attitudes that are essential for effective and responsible participation in a democratic society. Learners learn and analyse different kinds of relationships that exist between sexes and also evaluate these relationships. They are also enabled to reflect on their behaviours, on those of others and to critically evaluate human rights, values and practices.
Speaking out on sexual abuse
During our work we have learnt of the difficulty that girls find in talking about sexual violence and abuse against themselves. The result of this is a silence on sexual abuse and an inability to quantify the extent of the problem in education institutions. As a first effort aimed at providing learners the opportunity to speak about sexual abuse and related issues, the Department of Education launched in 1998 the Creative Arts Initiative as part of its Culture of Learning and Teaching Campaign. This provided learners with a non-threatening forum to talk about what they experience as barriers to learning and teaching. As a result of the learners' obvious need to speak on this matter, it now focuses purely on safety. High on the list of learners´ concerns has been the issue of violence against girls perpetrated by learners and teachers. We have as a result been able to assess the extent of the problem in schools more especially as it pertains to abuse by teachers.
Immediate dismissal of teachers for sexual abuse of learners
To address abuse of learners by teachers the Ministry tightened disciplinary measures and sanctions against educators in November 2000. We introduced an amendment to the Employment of Educators Act of 1998 that makes it clear that should a teacher be found guilty of having a sexual relationship with a learner of his/her school, whether with or without the consent of such a learner, the teacher shall be dismissed. Alternatively, where the teacher is involved in a rape or sexual assault of a learner of another school and is found guilty thereof after a fair hearing, such a teacher may be dismissed from his/her post. The intention of the legislation is to make it absolutely clear that a teacher who sexually abuses learners, should not be a teacher and the profession should rid itself of such individuals.
It is also for this reason that the South African Council for Educators Act, 2000 was enacted to ensure that should a teacher be dismissed on the basis of sexual abuse of a learner, he/she will be deregistered as a teacher and may not be appointed by any person, including private providers as a teacher.
Managing sexual abuse in schools
In November 2000 the Department of Education, with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency completed the development of a school-based module on Managing Sexual Harassment and Gender-based Violence. This module was developed with education district officials, teachers and schools in Gauteng, Free State and Mpumalanga, and consists of eight workshops that are intended to raise awareness about the problem of gender-based violence and to provide institution-based policies and programmes to deal with it.
During 2001/2, as part of its programme to improve school effectiveness and teacher professionalism, the Department of Education is taking this work into 18 districts and 2,700 schools and colleges in Government´s nodal points for integrated rural and urban development and renewal.
Signposts for Safe Schools
More recently the Department of Education and the South African Police Service have completed a workbook on Signposts for Safe Schools. This workbook will become a valuable resource and a reference for actions to be taken by educators, district managers, principals, and school governing bodies as well as members of the community. It is intended to provide schools with strategies to address violence of in schools focusing on improving the impact, authority and efficiency of school management and school services, development of policies, procedures and plans for their implementation, including policies for non-adherence, and strategies to involve, mobilise and capacitate youth in preventative programmes, projects and campaigns.
This workbook will be distributed to all schools and police stations, and the Department of Education will organise training to accompany its distribution. For the police service, operational directives will be provided with the workbook. We are confident that through this partnership with the South African Police Service we will help ensure that perpetrators of crime in our schools are prosecuted.
A call to action: Let us end abuse of our children in our schools
In the light of the Human Rights Watch report, the Department of Education shall review all of its initiatives in order to strengthen its response. It is a matter on which all of us should be united. Sexual abuse against girls and boys in our schools must come to an end, and together we must do so. We also call specifically on the teacher unions and organizations, student organizations to educate their memberships and to take firm action against perpetrators of violence against learners.