- SECTION27 and Teddy Bear Foundation seek a court order to compel government departments to enforce laws safeguarding learners from sexual abuse in schools.
- Widespread failures to vet and report abusers leave children vulnerable and violate fundamental rights.
- Over 140 cases of educator sexual abuse in one year underscore the urgent need for reform and protection.
SECTION27 and the Teddy Bear Foundation (TBF) have filed an urgent application in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, demanding that government departments fulfil their constitutional and legislative duties to protect children from sexual abuse in schools.
The application is directed at the Departments of Social Development, Justice and Constitutional Development, Basic Education, provincial education departments, the South African Council of Educators (SACE), and the Educators Labour Relations Council (ELRC).
“This case highlights the failures of the North West Department of Education to report a case to the DSD to have a perpetrator placed on the NCPR,” SECTION27 stated. “Sexual violence against learners at schools remains a pandemic… The numbers tell a story of a country failing to protect a generation.”
The legal action follows a 2022 case in which SECTION27 represented a learner raped by a school caretaker in the North West province. Despite a guilty finding at a disciplinary hearing, the perpetrator’s name was never entered into the National Child Protection Register (NCPR), a critical safeguard designed to prevent unsuitable individuals from working with children.
A protective mechanism ignored
Established under the Children’s Act of 2005, the NCPR is designed to list individuals deemed unsuitable to work with children, even when there has not been a criminal conviction. Once listed, these individuals are prohibited from employment in child-facing roles. SECTION27 and TBF’s efforts revealed that, in practice, government departments and agencies routinely fail to report perpetrators and to conduct the mandatory vetting required by law.
“Provincial education departments have an obligation to ensure that perpetrators are placed on the NCPR, and to vet all their employees who work with children against the NCPR,” SECTION27 and TBF emphasized. “These are essential steps to ensuring that perpetrators never have access to work with children in schools.”
A pandemic of sexual violence in schools
The crisis is serious. According to SACE’s 2023/2024 report, there were 606 cases of educator misconduct, including 148 cases of sexual abuse. These numbers show a system that is not protecting children, leaving many learners harmed, their futures at risk, and trust in schools damaged.
“All the respondents in this application have constitutional and legislative obligations to ensure that they protect children and learners against sexual abuse or any other form of abuse,” SECTION27 asserted. “The failure of the respondents to ensure learners’ safety against abusers violates their rights to basic education, human dignity, freedom and security and privacy.”
SECTION27 and TBF want the court to make sure the NCPR rules are followed and that people who harm children cannot work with them. They believe schools should be safe places for children, not places where they are hurt.
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