close
close
Chapter 15
More From this Chapter

Reporting sexual harassment if a victim is a learner

  1. A learner who is a victim of sexual harassment can report an offence to: 
  • An educator, the Principal or Grade Head, OR
  • Another learner or person they feel comfortable with who must then report it to an educator, the Principal or Grade Head, OR 
  • A parent or community member who can report the complaint to any of the following people: Principal, Grade Head, a member of the School Management Team (SMT), an Educator, Circuit Manager, Department of Social Development (DSD), South African Council for Educators (SACE), Department of Health (DOH) or SAPS.
  1. If another learner is the alleged perpetrator then a disciplinary hearing must be held by the Principal or Grade Head for that learner. 
  2. In all cases, the Principal is responsible for the following actions: 
  • Report the incident to the Circuit Manager
  • Inform the parents of the learner victim and learner perpetrator
  •  Inform the School-based Support Team (SBST)
  • Inform the School Governing Body chairperson
  • Report the incident to the Department of Social Development (DSD) 
  1. The Circuit Manager should take the following actions: 
  • Report the incident to the Provincial Department of Employment and Labour.
  • If the alleged perpetrator is a staff member, hold an Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) arbitration, and report the incident to the South African Council of Educators (SACE) which will hold its own parallel investigation.
  1. If the incident is a level 4 offence (which includes sexual assault and rape) then the case should be reported to the police and the nearest Thuthuzela Care Centre.