Principal responds to harassment claims
Measures were immediately put in place after the incident was reported
“We have 35 learners at the high school, and the well-being of each one of them is my priority,” said Tammy Vermaak, principal at Seekers High School.
The school was recently placed in the spotlight, after a 14-year-old learner claimed that she, as well as some of her friends, had been sexually harassed by a 15-year-old boy during a Life Orientation (LO) class.
Read the initial article here: ‘Unsympathetic’ response to schoolgirl’s sexual harassment claim
Initially, the Record contacted the school for comment, but was referred to the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), as per their attorney’s instruction. But, after the initial article was published, it seemed that not all facts were communicated by the GDE.
According to Vermaak, they reported the incident to the GDE as soon as it was brought to their attention. “We felt that the allegations were serious, and because the incident was getting blown out of proportion, we wanted the GDE to investigate, but we also handled the incident from the school’s side. After the incident was reported, we interviewed all parties involved, and we also checked the CCTV footage for the whole week, as well as a few days prior, but could not see anything out of the ordinary. No teachers were absent during this time either,” she said.
She added that, after it was discovered that another girl also claimed she was a victim, they did not only have one incident to investigate, but two. “We have to follow protocol, and we had to ensure we do a thorough investigation. Unfortunately, the whole thing escalated very quickly, and within 48 hours the claim changed from touched inappropriately to rape. We were very concerned that the girls felt they could talk to each other, but not the teachers.
The incident was also only reported by the girl after the boy went to the teachers and said some learners were spreading stories about him,” Vermaak said.
Also Read: GDE responds to pupil assault incident
The school has ensured that stricter measures have been implemented. “All practical LO classes were cancelled, and the teachers spent time with the learners, talking to the boys and girls about touching each other and what is acceptable,” she said.
She said that the reason for the parents not being informed immediately was because they were still in the early stages of the investigation. “We had to investigate all claims, because we could dismiss any of the reports as lies. But, any investigation is hard to complete, if there is no hard evidence supporting the claims,” said Vermaak.
She added that, although she did not want to label any learner or make them seem like bad people, teenagers tend to want to hurt and humiliate each other, and might sometimes do or say something without realising the consequences. “We are all human, and we all make mistakes, but, instead of trying to bring each other down, we need to join hands and help each other. We have sacrificed a lot to keep the school running and each learner’s happiness is very important to me,” she concluded.
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