Note to editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Sergio Isa Dos Santos MPL.
- 22 020 child abuse reports recorded between 2023 and 2026, but GDE cannot account for investigation timelines.
- The DA demand a centralised case-tracking system with enforceable investigation deadlines.
- Every learner deserves a safe school where abuse is investigated and perpetrators are held accountable.
Between 2023 and 2026, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) recorded 22, 020 reports of child abuse. However, the department cannot provide information on how long investigations take or how many cases were reported over the past ten years. This revelation exposes the shocking extent of abuse in Gauteng schools and the department’s failure to protect learners. A department that cannot measure its own performance cannot claim to be protecting vulnerable learners.
The departments failure means that learners’ sense of safety has been shattered, their education has been disrupted, and their physical and emotional well-being may be affected for years to come. Schools should provide a safe environment where learners can thrive, but in Gauteng, too many have become places of fear, trauma, and abuse.
The DA will write to the Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile requesting that he urgently implement a centralised case-tracking system with legally enforceable investigation deadlines to ensure that every report of child abuse is investigated, victims receive support, and perpetrators are held accountable.
Responding to questions posed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL), MEC Maile revealed that out of the 22 020 reported child abuse cases, 18 843 were received through the department’s 24-hour helpline, 3 022 were referred for clinical counselling, and only 155 cases were investigated by the Special Investigations Directorate (SID).
See reply here.
The figures paint a disturbing picture of the abuse facing Gauteng’s learners. There were 3,960 reports of emotional abuse, along with 695 cases of rape, 423 of sexual assault, and 74 of sexual harassment handled by clinical counselling services. The SID investigated 15 cases of corporal punishment, 7 cases of educator bullying, 2 cases of learner assaults by educators, and 7 cases of sexual abuse involving educators or principals.
The department’s failure to provide the average turnaround time for investigations is concerning. This lack of transparency makes it impossible to assess whether allegations of child abuse are being investigated or whether vulnerable learners are receiving the protection they deserve.
Every parent deserves to know that no matter which school their child attends, reports of abuse will be tracked properly, investigated timeously, and escalated to relevant authorities.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would implement a centralised learner-protection system under which each report would be assigned a reference number, tracked, and properly managed. Strong response and investigation deadlines would be enforced, with urgent cases referred to the South African Police Service (SAPS), social workers, and psychologists. We would also expedite the vetting of educators and staff and provide regular training to identify and report abuse.