Joburg - SECTION27 has welcomed the Department of Social Development’s (DosD) decision to place a school caretaker who was found guilty of sexual assault on the Child Protection Register noted on the Children’s Act of.
The decision comes after a school caretaker in the North West was found guilty of sexually assaulting two siblings who were learners at the school he worked in.
The incidents happened on different occasions.
The first incident happened in 2015 and the other one occurred in 2017 after the School Governing Body (SGB) and principal allegedly failed to act against the caretaker.
The perpetrator was dismissed from the school following the findings of a disciplinary inquiry held by the NW provincial Department of Education.
The organisation approached the DoSD to place the caretaker on the Child Protection Register.
SECTION27 said this would ensure that the perpetrator would be deemed unsuitable to work with children and prevent the perpetrator from harming other children.
While it celebrated the outcome, it mentioned that it was important to note that the journey to justice took eight long years.
“This reflects the systemic failures within education and the justice system to hold perpetrators accountable for acts of sexual violence, allowing them to continue violating more learners.
“After several failed attempts to get the SGB, the North West Department of Education and the SAPS to act, SECTION27 approached the court for an order directing them to act.
“The findings in the disciplinary committee are the culmination of the Provincial Education Department’s statutory duties to investigate allegations of sexual assault and take action against accused perpetrators.
“The perpetrator, in this case, was a school caretaker at the time and has been found guilty of raping a female minor learner in 2015, and sexually assaulting that learner’s sister in 2017,” it said.
According to SECTION27, the perpetrator pleaded not guilty on both charges of rape and sexual assault, but the disciplinary panel found him guilty after reviewing evidence provided by the survivor and their mother.
“Particularly relevant to this case was the caretaker’s role and position of authority at the school, with the chairperson of the disciplinary inquiry, Phillip Hozo, remarking in his report ‘in the education sector … the in loco parentis (in the place of a parent) principle reigns supreme…
“Schools are generally regarded as a safe haven for children. Therefore, schools are obliged to ensure that they address the problem of sexual abuse, harassment and related matters in light of legislative and policy measures,” it stated.
SECTION27 implored the Department of Education, principals and SGBs to vet candidates before employment, and that The Child Protection Register be used in the appointment process.
In 2019, Social Development called on employers throughout South Africa whose employees’ job responsibilities required them to work with, or have access to, children to verify their suitability to work with children against the Child Protection Register (CPR).
The purpose of CPR was to ensure that children were protected from abuse.
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