An overview of school based violence in south africa sace 2011. The south african police service failed to respond to daily mavericks enquiries regarding crime and violence in schools, but the centre for justice and crime prevention carried out an extensive. To provide a comprehensive summary of the extent of the problem of school based violence in south africa 2. Basic education rights handbook education rights in south. Multiple incidents of violence in south african schools have elevated the issue to being a national concern. Confronting sexual violence in schools africa renewal.
The domestic violence act, 1998 act 116 of 1998 was enacted with the main purpose to afford the victims of domestic violence maximum protection from domestic abuse that the law can provide. This was a qualitative study that used interviews and documents. In south africa, many learners are sexually harassed and abused by their teachers or other learners. Violence and the indiscipline of pupils in schools are underreported but violence is a reflection of south african society generally. Violence in schools is a national crisis not just an. Violence within schools is instead a symptom of the overall. Exploring adolescent learners experiences of school violence. Psychological impact abstract a safe school environment is central to learners academic. Schools in south africa are becoming more violent the minister of basic education, angie motshekga, has called on law enforcement agencies to help quell the recent spate of violence which has. Township high schools are especially prone to violence due to several factors, thereby influencing the learners experience thereof. The centre for justice and crime prevention cjcp 2009 in its study reported feelings of fear in south african schools, with 11,6% of female learners and 8% of male learners feeling safe in schools. The aims of the study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of school. Located within the critical emancipatory research cer. Addressing violence in south african schools understand.
The article uses the normalisation theory to understand, through the analysis of educators perspectives, how schoolbased violence could be curbed in south african public schools. Gangsterism as a cause of violence in south african schools. Basic education rights handbook education rights in. This paper reports on a study that was conducted in six provinces of south africa namely gauteng, north west, limpopo, western cape, kwazulunatal and mpumalanga. Prevalence and effect on rape myth acceptance, researchers gillian finchilescu and dugard jackie. Schools are critical in instilling discipline and ensuring safety, thus the emphasis on codes of conduct for learners at all public schools. With regard to discipline, the sa schools act section 8 empowers school governing bodies sgbs to adopt a learners code of conduct after consulting educators, learners and parents. A questionnaire was also employed for generalisation. Ongoing nature of school violence 34 fear within schools 35 perpetrators of violence within schools 40 reporting of violence by learners 41 drugs, alcohol and weapons at school 47 conclusion 51. Increasingly in south africa, but also in other countries, knives, guns and other weapons are a part of daily school life. As far back as 1999, kader asmal, the former minister of education, strongly condemned the unacceptably high levels of violence and directed that schools must be.
Do female learners have really equal opportunities and are they treated equally in south african schools or are they. Aug 28, 2017 south african democratic teachers union sadtu, general secretary mugwena maluleke cited lack of discipline is a cause of violence in schools since 2012 we have been conducting seminars on. Rates of violence in south africa are disturbingly high, constituting one of the most significant public mental health challenges in south africa. In the first incident, a grade 8 pupil assaulted a teacher with a broom. The department has a solid partnership with the south african police services saps aimed at linking schools with local policestations and the establishment of functional school safety committees.
Violence in south african schools, therefore, is a matter of concern. True impact of violence on our education system skills portal. The impact of learner violence in rural south african schools. Gangsterism as a cause of violence in south african. With the recent violent attacks in south african schools, questions have been raised as to whether parents, teachers and the community are losing the battle against this scourge of violence. In a study published this year, experiences of genderbased violence at a south african university. Jun 21, 2019 vusumzi ncontsa and almon shumba, in their article titled the nature, causes and effects of school violence in south african high schools, which appeared in the south african journal of education. Results of the 2012 national school violence studyby patrick burton and lezanne leoschut is licensed under a creative commons attributionnoderivs 3.
The impact of learner violence in rural south african schools g. The aims of the study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of school stakeholders of school violence and the nature of violence that takes place in south african schools. To provide a holistic understanding of the nature and causes of school based violence in south africa 3. Violence in sa schools a serious problem unions the. The nature, causes and effects of school violence in south. Young women in particular are affected by sexual violence and one of the places they are most vulnerable is at school. Sexual violence by educators in south african schools. Sexual violence by educators against learners in south african schools is a serious human rights issue that is widespread and well known. What is becoming evident in south african society is that violence is a serious worry in both primary and secondary schools1, across age, gender, race and school categories.
Pdf gangsterism as a cause of violence in south african. South africas transition to democracy has been accompanied by extremely high levels of both political violence and violent crime. Mar 30, 2018 south africa comes second after jamaica with the most incidents of violence in schools. Exploring the practice of in loco parentis in public schools. Sexual harassment in educationsouth africaprevention. When schools are regarded as part of their communities, the responsibility for ensuring school safety and in turn. Section 2 deals with the politics of crime and violence in south africa, highlighting how crime and violence are a focus of political contestation with a range of groups advocating on behalf of specific victim constituencies.
South africa and gbv south africa s transition to democracy has been accompanied by extremely high levels of both political violence and violent crime. School violence basic education rights handbook education rights in south africa chapter 17. The world health organization defines violence as the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury. To explore the impact of school based violence on learners and teachers, as well as learning and teaching 4. Violence in south african schools is rampant and has been so for a while. The aim of this article is to report on an investigation into the perception of school.
Withthe schools as the centre of community life approach, schoolbased violence is understood as a multifaceted social phenomenon in which community support and responsibility for schools become key to curbing violence. Dec 12, 2015 violence in schools is a social problem with an enormous ripple effect one act of violence can trigger numerous negative outcomes hence, the community is expected to work as a whole in order to curb this social ill. According to the south african schools act assault is one of the offences that can lead to expulsion. Some pupils have also become desensitised to violence whenever they witness it they take out their.
Bullying and violence in schools all forms of discrimination and violence in schools are an obstacle to children and young peoples fundamental right to quality education. Violence in schools is underreported says teachers. The scourge of violence in south african schools is a cause for concern. Violence in schools and other educational settings is a worldwide problem and students who do not conform to prevailing sexual and gender stereotypes. Vusumzi ncontsa and almon shumba, in their article titled the nature, causes and effects of school violence in south african high schools, which appeared in. Sexual violence is a widespread problem, both in south africa and beyond. Sexual harassment in education south africaprevention. South african law places a legal duty on schools to ensure that learners are not harmed but participate in a safe environment, however, violences. Singh 1 and trudie s teyn 2 1 empangeni, kwazulunatal 2university of south africa, department of educational leaders and management 2email. Sexual harassment and violence in south african schools. Statistics on femicide, rape and domestic violence demonstrate unprecedented prevalence rates. The problems associated with school violence paint a bleak picture of violence in south african schools prinsloo, 2008. The first nsvs in 2008 found that 22% of the secondary school learners surveyed had succumbed to some form of violence in the 12 months preceding the.
South african democratic teachers union sadtu, general secretary mugwena maluleke cited lack of discipline is a cause of violence in schools since 2012 we have been conducting seminars on. Violence against women in south africa a country in crisis 5 executive summary i n south africa, a country scarred by the history of apartheid, violence against women vaw is endemic. The country was rocked by violent incidents in two schools, in johannesburg gauteng and sasolburg free state, last week. The article uses the normalisation theory to understand, through the analysis of educators perspectives, how school based violence could be curbed in south african public schools. In south africa, many learners are sexually harassed and abused by.
Violence at schools is a reflection of their broader context, requiring multiple prevention strategies. This is the reaction of the national professional teachers. Learners and teachers are equally exposed to violence. The aim of this article is to report on an investigation into the perception of school communities regarding conditions that make violence such a persistent problem in schools. True impact of violence on our education system skills. For this nationally representative, crosssectional study in south africa, households were selected by use of a multistage sampling frame, stratified by province, urban or rural setting, and race group, and schools were selected on the basis that they were closest to the area in which households were selected. This problem in most cases is hidden and not reported by the victims. South africa comes second after jamaica with the most incidents of violence in schools. Pdf causes of schoolbased violence in south african. A sequential mixed method approach was used in this study. We sought to investigate the nature, causes and effects of school violence in four south african high schools. Mar 16, 2018 violence and the indiscipline of pupils in schools are underreported but violence is a reflection of south african society generally. Assault, rape and sexual violence are endemic in south african schools unicef, 2001.
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