Durban - The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) is urging learners to come forward if they have experienced sexual abuse at schools. The LRC is also urging parents and teachers to come forward after police confirmed an investigation into sexual abuse of child athletes at the hands of sports coaches.
This comes in the wake of an announcement by advocacy group, Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA), of an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of teachers and coaches from some of the country’s top schools.
Dubbed Operation Nemo, the investigation exposes how teaching staff and coaches were involved in allegedly sexually grooming youngsters from sports teams.
According to WMACA’s Miranda Jordan, Operation Nemo is a collaboration between the organisation and police as well as News24 investigating journalist and podcast founder of My Only Story, Deon Wiggett. The investigation will be headed up by Colonel Heila Niemand of the SAPS Organised Crime unit.
So far, at least five individuals form part of the investigation as well as seven top schools around the country including an all boys school in KZN.
“They include three men who coached at Grey High and Pearson in Gqeberha and at St Andrew’s College and DSG in Makhanda. Two other Makhanda teachers are also under investigation. Two of the three coaches under investigation are Dean Carelse and David Mackenzie,” the organisation said.
Mackenzie, a former teacher at St Andrew’s College, told News24 that he believes this was retaliation by the police for going after them. Mackenzie is being sued for millions by the parents of Thomas Kruger, a former St Andrew’s College student who was found hanged in 2018.
The LRC welcomed the investigation.
“Educator and other school staff sexual misconduct have wide-ranging consequences for learners’ physical and psychological well-being, school performance and attendance. Schools are meant to be places of safety for learners. Instead, they have become one of the places where learners are most vulnerable to abuse. The sexual abuse of learners goes far beyond sports coaches at elite schools; it happens in school across the board and in all provinces,” the centre said in a media statement.
It added that SA has a comprehensive legislative framework that seeks to protect learners and place obligations on educators and other school staff members from sexual misconduct.
“However, school staff members often decide not to report instances of sexual misconduct against learners to SAPS, district education offices, and the South African Council of Educators despite this being mandatory. Teachers, school staff members, and parents are obligated to report any reasonable belief that a child has been abused. Learners often do not feel safe to report sexual abuse by staff members due to fear of not being believed or as a result of thinking that the perpetrator will not be punished,” (LRC) the LRC said.
Those learners, parents or staff who would like to report or need more information can contact Charlene Kreuser at charlene@lrc.org.za.
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