DA calls on Police Minister to include learner sexual abuse cases in schools in crime stats reports 

8 September 2021

The DA calls on the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, to include sexual offences that occur in schools as a reporting category in his annual and quarterly crime statistic reports, as it constitutes statutory rape.

Teenage pregnancies are fast becoming another pandemic that South Africa faces. In the Portfolio Committee of Basic Education, a presentation by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) revealed that the number of teenage pregnancies, where girls were below the age of consent was sitting at 8 715. In South Africa, most pregnancies under the age of 14 constitute statutory rape. Not only is the child sexually assaulted or coerced, but their early pregnancy effects their education. What is alarming is that 1 in 3 girls that fall pregnant do not go back to school, confining them to a cycle of lifelong poverty and disrupts growth and development.

In light of these stats from the DBE, the DA will write a letter to Minister Cele to advocate for the inclusion of the following categories in his crime statistics reports:

A breakdown of sexual offences/abuse of learners on school property;

Reported cases of underage pregnancies;

Current open dockets of statutory rape, and statutory rape cases that have led to convictions; and

A breakdown per province of all above mention statistics.

The DA believes that the release of these statistics will at least be a starting point in addressing these horrid crimes against our children. These statistics will assist national and provincial governments in understanding the hotspot areas and where intervention is mostly needed. But most importantly, it will bring more awareness and hopefully education on the exploitation young children are exposed to.

It is abnormal that 15.1 % of all girls experience rape, sexual harassment or abuse in schools and that during the 2019/2020 period 17 118 cases of rape against children were reported. The cases of gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy in South Africa has reached crises levels and multi-sectoral intervention is required.

In seeking to address this scourge in the province, the Western Cape Education Department follows a Learner Pregnancy Policy, which outlines the process that must be followed when a pregnancy is reported/becomes evident. It lays out the roles and responsibilities such as:

The importance of treating the matter with great sensitivity and confidentiality;

The learner will receive support from the specialised support teams available in each education district; and

What steps the principal must take (such as confidentiality in reporting to the SGB, engaging with the learner’s parents/guardians about the plan going forward, procedure when the other responsible party is a male learner at the school or at another school, etc.)

Should the learner have become pregnant as a result of sexual assault, the principal must follow the procedures in the Abuse No More Protocol document. The policy also clearly outlines the arrangements that will need to be made for the NSC exams in the case of a Grade 12 learner.

We need to strengthen policies and approaches to support and protect our learners from abuse. But also, in cases of teenage pregnancies, policies that advocate for the proper support of female learners to ensure that they complete their education, as seen in the Western Cape.

Issued by Desiree van der Walt, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Basic Education, 8 September 2021