This information emerged following an appeal from the Governing Body Foundation , a non-profit organisation, for increased action concerning sexual grooming incidents at educational institutions., GBF spokesperson Anthea Cereseto emphasised that there is a pressing need to focus on sexual grooming, as it poses a considerable risk to students.
Out of the 32 reported cases, 18 are currently under investigation, whereas 14 were dismissed due to a lack of sufficient evidence. The ‘Abuse No More’ initiative is aimed at providing institutions, staff and students with guidelines on addressing sexual abuse incidents. It stipulates the proper procedures for reporting and providing support in cases involving child abuse, deliberate neglect and sexual offences, applicable to all public schools in the Western Cape Education Department.
‘Any person seeking employment within the WCED is required to be fingerprinted. This allows us to conduct a background check using the services of an external service provider. The agency is well-established and has direct access to police and court records. We also check the government’s employee records system, Persal, to establish whether a potential employee who worked previously for the government was ever convicted of an offence, including sexual offences.