“This followed a meeting on 4 July which was initiated by complaints received from all provinces regarding the rise of corporal punishment,” said the commission’s spokesperson Isaac Mangena.
The General Household Survey (StatsSA; 2011) indicated 2 103 677 incidents of corporal punishment reported in schools in 2011, despite the abolishment of corporal punishment in 1996.
“There were also reports of violence that exceed the definition of corporal punishment which included instances where children were severely humiliated, grievously injured, left disabled, or did not survive their injuries.”
Mangena said the meeting was only the beginning of SAHRC’s initiative to strategically eradicate corporal punishment. He pointed out that the aim of the meeting was to discuss ways to tackle the problem and to understand why physical punishment remains a common practice in the country.
“Some teachers expressed their reservations about the issue, and claimed that they come under attack too, therefore we must ask, ‘What do teachers do then?” said Mangena.
The National School Violence Study (2012) showed that regardless of the knowledge that corporal punishment is illegal, “some educators may still be ill-equipped to employ non-violent means of discipline”.
In support of this, research conducted by Gerhard Olivier, MEd (University of Pretoria) on “Educators Perceptions of Corporal Punishment”, revealed that the main reasons for corporal punishment included the belief that it is an effective way of maintaining discipline in over-crowded classrooms, poor teacher morale, limited work satisfaction and high stress levels.
Mangena acknowledged these working conditions and held that corporal punishment is still a crime, and the Commission needed advice from people in justice, education, the police and NGOs to discuss ways to tackle the issue strategically.
As a first step, a study has been commissioned by the Centre for Child Law in conjunction with SAHRC’s efforts to understand the practice of corporal punishment. Mangena explained that in order to ensure the accountability of educators, the study’s findings will fit into reports that are intended be presented to Parliament.
