SA kids play 'rape me'

2008-03-12 13:10

Johannesburg - Games such as "hit me, hit me" and "rape me, rape me" where schoolchildren chased each other and then pretended to hit or rape each other were being played at South African schools.

"This game demonstrates the extent and level... brutalisation of the youth has reached and how endemic sexual violence has become in South Africa," the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said in a report on school violence released on Wednesday.

During public hearings, on which the report was based, the commission heard from Community Action Toward a Safe Environment (Case) that games such as these indicated how violence had become part of children's identities.

The report said the school was the "single most common" site of crimes such as assault and robbery against pupils. According to a study conducted by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention (CJCP), young people were twice as likely to become victims of crime than adults.

Toilets feared by most

"Just over two fifths (41.1%) of the young people interviewed had been victims of some form of crime," it said.

The CJCP also found that toilets were an area of the school feared most by pupils.

"Research indicates that learners perceive school toilets as the least safe areas, as are grounds and playing fields," the report said.

These areas were a haven for bullies, which is the most common and well-known form of school violence.

The commission found that pupils were now more "willing and able" to use physically aggressive ways to solve conflicts.

More than a fifth of sexual assaults of young people occurred while they were at school, the report stated.

According to a study conducted among 1227 female students who were victims of sexual assault, 8.6% (105 students) were assaulted by teachers, the report said.

Shocking findings

The Western Cape Education Department said that on average it received between one and four cases a month against teachers for sexual assault or harassment of students.

"Very often, disciplinary procedures are not followed through and educators resign upon being formally charged," the SAHRC said.

Another study, by the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme (TVEP), found that 26% of students were of the opinion that forced sexual intercourse did not necessarily constitute rape.

The Red Cross Children's Hospital in Cape Town told the commission the most common forms of violence it treated scholars for were assault with a fist, knife or panga, rape and sexual assault, bite wounds and firearm related injuries.

The SAHRC in its recommendations said the education department should assist schools in identifying areas, such as toilets, where victimisation occurred and consider "reconfiguring" them.

Careful screening and security measures were other methods mooted to prevent pupils from bringing weapons into schools.

"The DoE [education department] should carefully consider the implementation of security devices, including metal detectors and fences," it said.

- SAPA