A 14-year-old schoolgirl became a victim of rape in the schoolyard when two males took turns raping her on 8 March.
Col Adéle Myburgh, the NW SAPS spokesperson, reported that the incident took place in the school’s toilets at about 07:00 on Friday.
‘She allegedly went to the toilet where the suspects overpowered and raped her. The suspects are still at large and the investigation continues,’ said Myburgh.
The spokesperson of the North West Department of Education and Sport Development, Elias Malindi says the school reported the incident to the circuit manager.
“The incident took place before school in the morning when the teachers were in a morning briefing. The department called the parents of the victim and also provided counselling for the girl, her parents and the learners. The school called the police and assisted the victim in opening a case,” said Malindi.
The incident has highlighted the safety of learners, especially young girls in local schools.
Regarding the safety measures at the school in question, Malindi says the school does have safety committees but did not elaborate.
He added that the department held a safety summit at Kgaswane Country Lodge in Rustenburg from 12 to 13 March.
Department will provide security guards for 200 schools in NW
The MEC of Education, Sello Lehari, announced that the department would provide security guards to 200 schools that have been identified in the NW. They will commence their duties on 1 April.
“We will apply to the relevant authorities to conduct random searches in schools and we will accompany the police. This will help in addressing the issue of dangerous weapons in schools,” said Lehari.
Malindi says the schools earmarked for security will be communicated soon.
According to the SAPS national statistics for the 2017/2018 financial year, 40,035 rapes took place in 365 days. Africa Check states that the police had recorded an average of 110 rapes each day.
The police statistics also indicated that Ikageng recorded 134 incidents of rape between April 2017 and March 2018. The figure had increased by ten incidents in comparison to the previous financial year. These figures indicate that, on average, someone in Ikageng was raped every third day between April 2017 and March 2018.
Rapists should be castrated, says Women Foward
In light of these alarming statistics of women and children being raped in our country, the Women Foward leader, Nana Ngobese-Nxumalo, says her party will fight for the castration of rapists, child molesters and abusers.
Ngobese-Nxumalo says a rapist destroys someone else’s life. “Their victim will never recover from the trauma. The punishment they receive should appropriately fit the crime. The criminal gives up his human rights by totally disregarding the human rights of another,” she said.
