Book Review

Scared at School: Violence Against Girls in South African Schools
By Human Rights Watch

"They all think that girls are supposed to be their doormat. I think boys must be taught to look at girls as people" - DA, age 15

The Human Rights Watch 2001 publication, Scared at School: Sexual Violence Against Girls in South African Schools does a good job of documenting the broad spectrum of issues and challenges that young girls in South Africa's schools have to face - violence and sexual abuse.

This is within the backdrop of the fact that girls in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia comprise the majority of the world's children with no access to education. Thus, in dealing with this situation, a strong case has to be made for removing all impediments to girls' education in order to enable them contribute their quota to socio-economic development of these regions which are also among the lesser developed.

Truth, however, is that while children in schools face sexual violence, there are untold numbers of out-of-school children who face similar challenges as traders, hawkers and beggars who are easily lured into various forms of prostitution. The needs of these various categories of young people must be addressed in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The issue in a nutshell is that young girls are being sexually abused by male teachers and colleagues and guidelines for dealing with these kinds of situations are usually non-existent. Girls endure the various assaults in silence and often live with the torment of seeing the perpetrators daily and in many cases, the girls are subjected to the abuse over and over again.

"...according to SF, the teacher raped her and forced her to perform oral sex. He then threatened her with violence if she told anyone" (p.40). SF is a 15 year-old girl with learning disability in a Durban school.

Many girls are not comfortable discussing these issue with parents and guardians. In fact, for economic reasons, some parents even accommodate the relationships that their girls have with teachers!

Girls who make bold to report acts of abuse are stigmatised and ridiculed. When cases are reported, the school authorities prefer to keep quite, if they can. The situation takes on a more gory dimension when teachers offer better grades or money to lure students into relationships.

But issues are not always clear-cut as in some cases the girls 'willingly' date their teachers. But of course, these have to be viewed in the context that they are underage girls and the teachers in question are usually older and are in authority over them. "Poverty and fear can also form a powerful combination making it difficult for girls to resist and complain." (p. 45)

Forms of abuse vary including rape, use of sexualised language, exchange of money for sex, verbal abuse, misuse of corporal punishment and power, retaliation violence and sexual harassment.

"Rape is the most prevalent reported crime against children, accounting for one-third of all serious offenses against children reported between 1996 and 1998" (p.23). More alarming is the fact that some of those committing these sexual offenses can also be very young -school age kids. "Nine-year-old LB was raped in the school toilets at her primary school. by two students aged twelve and fourteen" (p.49).

Sexual violence and abuse disrupt the education of the girls- their grades suffer, some leave school, they suffer psychologically and lurking ominously in the background are issues such as unwanted pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.

In seeking to find answers to why there is this increase in violent crimes of a sexual nature in South Africa, the blame has often been placed at the door of the system of apartheid that held sway in the not so distant past. Violence promoted even within the school system; when young people were forced to resist the discriminatory practices that prevailed at the time, is viewed as the root cause of the present problem "Years of violent enforcement of apartheid era policies have fuelled a culture of violence" (p.5-6).

But one is wont to ask, why are these forms of violence also rampant within the school system in Nigeria, for instance, where no apartheid system existed except, perhaps, if we consider the ever widening gulf between the rich and the poor and where majority of the population (at least 70% of the population ) live below the poverty line. What are the connexions between poverty and violent crime? What are the connexions between poverty and the desecration and violation of women's bodies?

Increase in sexual violence against girls has also been attributed to myths that are currently in circulation; such as - 'intercourse with a young virgin can cure AIDS'. It has also been suggested that men are avoiding older women for fear of contracting HIV/AIDS (pp.24 & 25). Certainly, these strange and bizarre discourses that manifest in various forms across the continent have to be identified and aggressively countered.

What is the way forward? The recommendations in the publication are quite encompassing and provide very useful reference for others who wish to work in this area. In addition, the recommendations from other relevant Human Rights Watch documents are also included in the appendix to the report. Recommendations provide suggestions for action by the education department, the national government, and the teachers union. Suggestions are also made about: How to protect victims from perpetrators, abuse prevention, victim support, ways to investigate and document abuse, amongst others.

Awareness about these issues is high in South Africa and thus, attempts are being made somewhat to address them. One of South Africa's provinces - the Western Cape Province was at the time of the book's publication in 2001 "working to introduce guidelines on gender violence in area schools" (p7.).

* Review by Arit Oku-Egbas, Programme Officer, Africa Regional Sexuality Resource Centre.

Download PDF version [33Kb] Back to main page