Non-governmental organisations have weighed in on basic education minister, Angie Motshekga’s controversial comment that “an educated man won’t rape”.
Shaheda Omar, clinical director of The Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children, has demanded that she apologise to the nation for her “worrying and alarming” statement.
“How does Angie come to the understanding that educated men don’t rape?
“Are we saying that people with certificates or in positions of power and authority have not committed these crimes?”
People in power “have actually committed the most heinous of crimes”, Omar said.
“She is saying that if you don’t have a qualification or are not educated, you fall into the category of those scumbags who are responsible for inciting and committing such horrific crimes. This is stereotyping and painting people with the same brush.”
Motshekga made the controversial remarks on Monday while addressing pupils of Prospectus High School in Tshwane, on the reopening of the new school year.
She must be kept very far from SA’s education system. There is nothing wrong with shutting up if you have nothing to say. Angie Motshekga must honestly shut up!
— EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu
“I thought they need to be a bit civilised, not to do certain things, now I’m disappointed. My theory is that the more educated you are, the more sophisticated you are, the less you get involved in wrong things because you can look after yourself, your family, and you can look after your environment,” Motshekga said.
Omar said that Motshekga’s level of reasoning and wisdom “lacks a lot of insight”.
“It’s worrying and alarming that a person in authority should actually respond like that.”
Said Omar: “There should be some kind of recourse. People should not get away with being glib about how they conduct themselves.”
She quoted examples of people in power such as principals and teachers who had impregnated pupils.
Sexual misconduct is among the top three types of professional and unethical misconduct conduct against teachers investigated by the SA Council for Educators (Sace) between April 2019 and March last year. This includes rape, indecent assault, sexual assault and sexual harassment.
During this period, the names of 17 teachers found guilty of sexual crimes were registered in the department of social development’s register of people unfit to work with children.
Faranaaz Veriava, head of the education rights programme at public interest law centre, Section 27, said that Motshekga insisted her comment was taken out of context as her objective was to encourage pupils to continue with their education.
“While this may have been her intention, the statement is thoughtless and irresponsible since it perpetuates prevailing stereotypes about rape, and particularly who are the perpetrators of rape.”
She said that rape “is about power and rape culture is systemic at all levels of our society and in many contexts”.
“In our work, we regularly hear tragic stories from learners who have been sexually assaulted by teachers or other authority figures. These learners choose to remain silent for fear of being disbelieved or, when they have come forward, their complaints ignored because they are disbelieved.”
She said that the minister’s statement “has the potential to reinforce rather than challenge this pattern of disbelieving survivors of sexual violence”.
“We encourage the department of basic education to address the extremely high levels of sexual violence in schools through offering proper counselling in schools, holding perpetrators at all levels accountable and ensuring ongoing training to promote gender equality and end gender violence.”
Zita Nefale from the Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria said a person holding such an influential position “and whose words impact public opinion should be clear and unambiguous in the messages they convey when making a public statement”.
“That the minister’s statement was made to learners is even more concerning, as great care must be taken in messages conveyed to children in a context of high rates of gender-based violence.”
After Motshekga’s remarks, the EFF’s deputy president, Floyd Shivambu, reportedly said she “is committed to making foolish statements and mistakes”.
“She must be kept far from SA’s education system. There is nothing wrong with shutting up if you have nothing to say. Angie Motshekga must honestly shut up!”
