Social activism non-profit, Section27 and the Teddy Bear Foundation (TBF), have approached the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria seeking an order against several government departments and entities, to discharge their constitutional and legislative obligations to maintain and implement the National Child Protection Register (NCPR).
The entities taken to court are the departments of Social Development (DSD), Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD), Basic Education (DBE), provincial education departments (PEDs), the South African Council of Educators (SACE), and Educators Labour Relations Council (ELRC)
The NCPR is a South African online database established under the Children's Act 38 of 2005 to protect children from abuse and neglect. It has two parts: Part A lists children who are victims of abuse or neglect, and Part B lists individuals are found to be unsuitable to work with children, often due to convictions for child abuse or other severe offenses.
The database is managed by the DSD, while other government departments, like the DOJ&CD also provide information on convictions to the register.
In a statement, Section27 says over the past two years, it had collaborated with the TBF to engage, in vain, with the DSD, DOJ, DBE, PEDs, SACE, and the ELRC to establish the extent to which the NCPR has been maintained and implemented.
“These engagements revealed a failure by the DBE and PEDs to ensure and conduct the mandated vetting, respectively. Sexual violence against learners at schools remains a pandemic. SACE reported that during the 2023/2024 reporting period, they received a total of 606 cases of which 148 related to sexual abuse by educators.”
According to Section27, the numbers tell a story of a country “failing to protect a generation and an urgent need to deal with cases of sexual violence speedily, effectively and in a manner that centres on the needs of victims – particularly when victims are children.”
Complying with constitutional duties
The recent court matter against the institutions and government departments stems from a case that Section27 was involved in in 2022, where it represented a learner who had been raped by a caretaker at a school in the North-West Province.
According to Section27, the school’s governing body and the North-West Department of Education (NWDOE) had failed to take all steps necessary to hold the caretaker accountable.
At the time, Section27 successfully intervened in the Mahikeng High Court, and sought a mandatory order against various education authorities to act in accordance with their constitutional, legislative, and policy obligations.
Subsequent to securing the order, a disciplinary hearing was held, and the caretaker was found guilty of rape, says the non-profit.
“The NWDOE failed to place the caretaker on the NCPR despite requests by SECTION27. This case highlighted the failures of the NWDOE to report a case to the DSD to have a perpetrator placed on the NCPR.
“All the respondents in this application have constitutional and legislative obligations to ensure that they protect children and learners against sexual abuse or any other form of abuse. The failure of the respondents to ensure learners’ safety against abusers violates their rights to basic education, human dignity, freedom and security, and privacy,” notes SECTION27.
Schools ought to be places of safety where children can thrive and be free from all forms of violence, says Section27.
The TBF and Section27 call on the court to mandate the respondents to comply with their constitutional and legislative duties to maintain the NCPR and to ensure compliance with reporting and vetting obligations of educators against the NCPR.
“Inclusion on the NCPR is not dependent on the existence of a criminal conviction against the accused. Once placed on the NCPR, persons are deemed unsuitable to work with children. Provincial education departments have an obligation to ensure that perpetrators are placed on the NCPR, and to vet all their employees who work with children against the NCPR. These are essential steps to ensuring that perpetrators never have access to work with children in schools,” concludes Section27.
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