Weak coordination between education and child protection systems continues to delay sexual violence cases, leaving many pupils unsafe at school.
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The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has warned that sexual violence in schools is being worsened by a broken reporting and accountability system that allows cases to fall through the cracks.
In a report released this week, the commission said the problem is not confined to one school or one province, but reflects a wider failure across the education system, law enforcement and child protection structures.
It said the evidence presented during its roundtable showed that schools are facing increasing reports of abuse, ongoing disciplinary cases against educators and persistent underreporting.
Where it started
The report was triggered by a complaint involving an educator at St Johns College in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, but the commission said the matter pointed to a much broader crisis.
It said the issue is “a constitutional issue”, “a child protection failure”, “a criminal justice concern” and “a social and cultural problem requiring systemic change.”
The numbers
According to the report, the Department of Basic Education said 405 738 educators and staff members were supposed to be vetted, but only 103 366 South African Police Service (Saps) forms had been submitted, and 52 008 National Register for Sex Offenders certificates had been received by 31 January 2026. The department also said 60 illicit findings were recorded during the vetting process.
The Department of Social Development told the roundtable that 26 855 child abuse cases were recorded in 2024-25, including 9 857 sexual abuse cases. Saps said 2 826 child sexual offence charges were recorded in the same period.
The report said the Education Labour Relations Council has tried to reduce trauma for complainants by centralising serious misconduct cases through a specialised arbitration model. It said the model was designed so child witnesses would not have to repeat their testimony in multiple forums.
The South African Council for Educators (SACE) said it received 3 414 misconduct complaints between 2021 and 2025, including 826 sexual misconduct cases. The report said the body also recorded 606 complaints in 2024-25 and another 700 new cases in the first ten months of 2025-26.
What’s wrong
The commission said the system remains deeply fragmented. It said “labour dismissal does not automatically result in professional deregistration,” while “professional deregistration does not automatically trigger inclusion in safeguarding registers”. It also said, “screening remains employer-initiated rather than system-automated.”
The report noted that provincial departments hold employer powers over public school educators, not the national department, making enforcement uneven. It also said school governing body members often lack legal training, while poverty and pressure within communities can discourage families from pursuing cases.
The commission concluded that the problem is not a lack of laws, but a failure to connect the systems meant to enforce them. It said protecting pupils is “a constitutional imperative, not a discretionary policy choice”.
