Cape Town - A series of allegedly disturbing events has unfolded at a High School in the Northern Suburbs, where multiple incidents of bullying, sexual harassment, and racism have been reported by a group of female learners.
The incidents began in the students’ eighth-grade year and have continued into their tenth-grade year.
Vanessa Le Roux, founder of Parents for Equal Education SA (Peesa), has expressed outrage at the school’s handling of the situation.
“This is a criminal case, not just a disciplinary matter,” she said.
“The nature of the allegations is sexual, and it’s a threat not only to the girls but to the community as well. The thought of this individual being allowed to roam freely on the school amongst these girls is terrifying.”
Le Roux revealed some of the alleged events that took place on the school grounds.
“This boy had allegedly showed the girls violent videos and made racial remarks calling them n*gg*s. He also allegedly told them that he wanted to rape a baby, that he wants to impregnate black girls and then threatened to stab one of the victims who spoke out.”
A father of one of the affected girls expressed his frustration and anger at the school’s handling of the situation, particularly at a disciplinary hearing where the alleged perpetrator and his parents were allowed to question the victims.
“We were only around four families that arrived at the meeting, and our rights weren’t even really explained,” he said.
The father criticised the school’s decision to hire a lawyer to represent them at the disciplinary hearing, without disclosing this information to the parents.
“To my surprise, each and every person sitting there had a copy of my daughter’s report. Even the perpetrator and his parents had copies This is illegal. They did not even supply my child with a copy of her own report.”
“Had I known the school had a lawyer, I would never have gone to the meeting. It’s not a lawyer appointed by the accused family, no, they represented themselves.
The father is calling for the school to be held accountable, with demands for the principal and teachers who knew about the incidents but did nothing, to be fired.
“I want the accused he said.
“We want justice. We want our children to be protected, not made to feel like criminals. We want the school to take responsibility for their actions, and to ensure that our children are safe and supported.”
The Western Cape Education Department has confirmed that they are aware of the allegations and that the SGB has found the learner guilty of some of the allegations. It said sanctions will be determined.
“On hearing the allegations, the school immediately followed all the necessary ‘Abuse no More’ protocols. They instituted disciplinary procedures and contacted all the parents of the witnesses in the case.
“The parents were informed of the disciplinary case and that they could testify on a specific date. Some parents opted not to testify and withdrew their child’s statements.
“The school did not appoint a legal representative to protect the child. The representative was appointed to protect the integrity of the process and to ensure procedural fairness as the SGB did not have much experience in legal matters. All witnesses were accompanied by parents.”
The group of parents have since accompanied their kids to the police station to give their statements.