Sexual misconduct continues to be an issue in educational institutions around the country, including colleges, universities, schools and daycares. Each year the number of reported cases continues to rise, but only a fraction of these educators are being held accountable for their actions.
The number of reported teacher sexual misconduct cases has risen from 92 in 2019/20 to 169 in 2020/21 and 191 in 2021/22. Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, revealed this statistic in response to a written parliamentary question asked by the DA. This number is likely much higher as many cases go unreported, states George Moroasui, Legal and Ethics Manager at the South African Council for Educators (SACE).
Various stakeholders and teacher's unions have expressed concern at this growing number. Even more concerning, is the low number of cases that proceed to disciplinary hearings.
In the last financial year, only 23 of these 191 reported cases resulted in disciplinary proceedings. The majority of these cases were closed by the Council due to a lack of evidence or a lack of cooperation from the victim or the victim's family.
In many instances, victims and victims' parents are bribed or victimised and intimidated by their own peers or their abuser's colleagues. They are then too afraid to continue with the disciplinary proceedings, resulting in these cases being closed due to a lack of cooperation. Sometimes these learners do come back and request that they proceed with the disciplinary hearings. This is usually when the bribery stops and they now feel as if they can speak out.
Of the 23 disciplinary proceedings that took place in 2022, only 19 teachers were found guilty of sexual misconduct, yet only 4 educators were struck off the roll indefinitely.
Moroasui reveals that this is because some teachers were not actually found guilty of the actions they had been accused of.
Teacher's names are only struck off the roll indefinitely in cases where they can prove, without a doubt, that sexual misconduct actually took place. In other cases teachers are suspended from teaching for at least 10 years. However, this is not doing enough to combat the issue.
In South Africa, the age of consent is 16, meaning that those under the age of 16 are unable to legally consent to sexual activities, therefore this type of behaviour would be considered statutory rape.
Teacher's unions and parliamentary bodies feel that teachers accused of these crimes should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Without guilty teachers having to face consequences for their actions, this number is only likely to climb in the coming years.
It is of utmost importance that learners can feel safe and comfortable when they attend school, and in instances where they are being abused, they should feel free to report these cases knowing that they will be protected.
