Fragmented systems failing children as sexual violence in schools persists: SAHRC

South Africa’s systems for preventing and responding to sexual violence in schools are failing children because of poor co-ordination, incomplete vetting of staff and weak enforcement of reporting laws.

This is according to a new report by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).

The report, titled Sexual Violence at Schools: A Crisis of Fragmentation, Delayed Integration, Incomplete Register Population, and Uneven Enforcement, follows a stakeholder roundtable convened by the commission after it received a human rights complaint about an educator at St John’s College in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.

The commission said the case, together with growing reports of sexual violence involving educators and pupils, pointed to a wider national problem.

The report found that sexual violence in schools is “not only a criminal justice, but a constitutional, educational, social and governance crisis requiring co-ordinated reform”.

It identified several major problems across government departments and institutions, including:

• underreporting of cases;
• parents withdrawing complaints;
• delays in disciplinary processes;
• poor sharing of information between departments;
• fragmented databases;
• weak enforcement of mandatory reporting laws; and
• the risk of children being retraumatised by having to repeatedly tell their stories.

One of the biggest concerns raised was the slow pace of vetting educators and school staff.

The department of basic education (DBE) told the roundtable that 405,738 educators and staff members had been vetted by the end of January. However, only 103,366 police screening forms had been submitted and just 52,008 National Register for Sex Offenders clearance certificates had been received.

The report says these figures “demonstrate that while vetting has commenced at scale, coverage remains partial”, exposing “a significant safeguarding gap”.

The vetting process uncovered 60 people with criminal or sex offender records, including educators, school governing body-appointed, administrative workers and general assistants. The department warned that vetting is still carried out through targeted exercises rather than continuous, automated checks, leaving gaps that could place pupils at risk.

The report also found that disciplinary and criminal justice systems often operate separately, allowing delays and duplication.

The Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) said it had dealt with increasing numbers of educator sexual misconduct cases since introducing a specialised arbitration process in 2018. It recorded 114 cases during the 2024/25 financial year, the highest since the new system was introduced, while 93 cases had already been referred during 2025/26.

Between 2018/2019 and 2025/26, 315 arbitration awards were issued, with 248 educators found guilty of sexual misconduct. However, the council said its role ends with labour-related consequences and it cannot ensure criminal prosecution or automatic deregistration by other bodies.

The South African Council for Educators (SACE) reported receiving 3,414 professional misconduct complaints between 2021 and 2025. Of these, 826 involved sexual misconduct.

During the 2024/25 financial year alone, SACE received 606 complaints, including 266 involving the sexual assault of pupils. Only 294 of those complaints had been finalised by the end of the reporting period, leaving about half still unresolved.

The council said 700 new complaints had already been received during the first 10 months of the 2025/26 financial year, showing that educator misconduct remains a persistent problem.

The department of social development painted an equally worrying picture.

It recorded 26,855 child abuse cases during the 2024/25 financial year, up from 23,772 the previous year. Of these, 9,857 involved sexual abuse, making it one of the largest categories of reported child abuse.

The department said its National Child Protection Register is still not fully digitised or linked to other important databases, including the National Register for Sex Offenders, SACE and the department of basic education’s human resources systems. Instead, schools and employers must request screenings, rather than relying on automatic checks.

The department of justice and constitutional development also highlighted weaknesses in the National Register for Sex Offenders.

The report said the register should contain details of 45,278 convicted offenders but currently lists only 34,000 because thousands of court orders have either not been submitted or have been delayed.

“This reveals a gap of 10,748 offenders who should appear on the register but do not, due to missing or delayed court orders,” the report stated.

It warned that convicted offenders may not appear during vetting processes if the necessary paperwork is not sent to the registrar.

Police statistics represented during the roundtable showed that sexual violence involving children continues to rise.

The South African Police Service recorded 2,826 criminal charges involving children for sexual offences during the 2024/25 financial year, up from 2,438 the previous year. Police also reported nearly 200 rapes on school premises during the first two quarters of the 2025/26 financial year.

Throughout the roundtable, participants repeatedly warned that many cases never reach the authorities because of fear, intimidation, poverty, community pressure and parents withdrawing complaints.

“Parents may withdraw complaints due to economic dependency, fear of retaliation or community pressure,” the report stated.

The commission concluded that stronger co-operation between government departments, schools, regulators and law enforcement is urgently needed to close gaps that continue to leave children vulnerable.

It said the country must move away from fragmented responses and towards an integrated safeguarding system that ensures every child can learn in a safe environment free from abuse.

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