In the wake of the shocking news that a little girl was sexually abused at IR Griffith Primary School in Blairgowrie, the Department of Education has confirmed that she had, indeed, been raped.
According to a statement released by the Department of Education on 17 May, the affected children were referred to the Teddy Bear Clinic to receive psychological support. However, the Teddy Bear Clinic said they are not providing psychological support in the rape incident. Clinical director Dr Shaheda Omar said they were not directly providing intervention, as it would depend on the outcome of the court’s decision.
“This means that if the young boys are found to be high-risk candidates they would have to be placed in a secure care facility, as we only deal with community-based diversion programmes [when] offenders remain in the custody of their primary caregivers or parents,” she said.
The department said it was deeply concerned and disturbed by the rape involving minors. It was said that four Grade 7 boys were present when a Grade 2 girl was raped in the boys’ toilets.
Read: Cloud of fear hangs over parents after allegations of sexual assault at a school
According to the department, the little girl did not report the matter immediately, however, she complained to her parents of having pains on her private parts, and was subsequently taken to a doctor for an examination. It was then confirmed that she had been penetrated. Her parents reported the matter to the police.
“The parents informed the school about the incident which took place during school holidays. The school informed the School Governing Body (SGB). The boys were then taken through a disciplinary process on Thursday, 11 May which exonerated two of the said four boys. The recommendation was that the learners must be expelled from the school,” read the statement.
The two boys appeared at the Randburg Magistrates’ court on 8 May. Their second appearance was on 16 May and are now expected to appear at the Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court on 18 July.
“We urge learners to abide by the school code of conduct at all times and refrain from acts of misconduct. We also appeal to parents to assist the department to enforce discipline in and outside the school environment.”
Randburg Sun attended a school meeting on 15 May in which the SGB informed parents about the incident.
The SGB explained that they were unable to inform the parents immediately because all the children involved were minors, and the school followed its internal procedure.
The SGB said in response to the incident, an additional social subject will be introduced to educate the schoolchildren on sexual harassment. The children will now go to the bathrooms in pairs, and educators will go on a six-hour course with a specialist from Teddy Bear Clinic to learn how to deal with vindictive children and bullying. The school is also waiting for a quotation for the installation of cameras in the passageways leading to the bathrooms.
Despite the completed disciplinary hearing and expelled perpetrators, one parent pointed out that the school should have communicated with them sooner.
Another parent said, “Our kids have been coming to the school since the incident occurred while the school wasn’t communicating anything this with us.”
The Department told Randburg Sun on 22 May that the school management was always guided by the communication policy of the school, and always assessed on how to interact with all its stakeholders.
“It must be noted that the matter is sub-judice and involves minors and, as such, we need to treat it with the sensitivity it deserves,” said the department acting spokesperson Oupa Bodibe.
