Teddy Bear Foundation: Sexual offences at schools ‘a mirror of society’
The Teddy Bear Foundation estimates that minors commit half of all sexual offences against children.
The organisation has been commenting amid concerns over the continued increase in incidents of rape and sexual assault involving school children.
Police crime statistics for the period October to December 2024 reveal that of the more than 11,000 reported rape cases, 74 happened at schools.
In the latest high-profile incident, a disciplinary hearing will sit next week for a Grade 7 boy who allegedly orchestrated the rape of eight pupils at Khomani Primary School in Diepkloof.
The Gauteng Education Department this week also confirmed the dismissal of a male teacher from Sunward Park High School in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, following allegations of sexual assault and verbal abuse of pupils at the school.
The Teddy Bear Foundation’s Shaheda Omar said survivors of rape or sexual assault are often afraid to come forward out of fear of being blamed.
"Victims are told by adult counterparts that if you tell, we will say that you asked for it. And often when children do report, it’s dismissed. They are told this educator is one of our best educators and is not capable of it.”
Omar added that children’s behaviour often mirrors what they have been exposed to, either at home or school.
"Children are exposed to a lot of sexual abuse material, exposed to violence and the online games that children are playing.
"Children are not always in a position to reach out and process what they have been exposed to,” Omar said, adding that the trauma leads to children withdrawing from society.
