Speaker, the UDM is horrified by the reports that a 15-year-old girl was drugged and gang-raped by three schoolboys at a Johannesburg school during school hours, whilst the ordeal was witnessed and filmed by other schoolchildren.
We are further outraged that this injustice was exacerbated by the reported negligence and further careless initial response of school authorities and the police.
We cannot pretend that this is a terrible, isolated case because the truth is that it is simply one of the countless cases of sexual abuse that happen every day in the country.
For instance, in the Gauteng education department alone there are reportedly 36 outstanding cases of sexual assault and of the 15 cases processed this year, 13 resulted in a teacher being found guilty. There is a deep, underlying rot in our society when rape and sexual assault are so common and pervasive. Today South Africa is making international headlines due to the injustice experienced by the girl from Johannesburg. Sadly, she is just one of thousands who are victimised every month.
As a society we should hang our heads in shame. We call on government to investigate and punish those school authorities and members of the police who initially neglected this case. We trust that the three perpetrators will have their day in court as soon as possible. I thank you. [Applause.]