The distribution of digitally-manipulated photos, including pornographic material, to schoolchildren in Randfontein on the West Rand has angered parents.
“Children from different schools are being added to a WhatsApp chat group that distributes foul things without their consent,” says the troubled mother of a gr. 8 pupil.
According to her, her daughter “on several occasions” left the chat group, known as “The Crazy Ones”, but she is constantly added again.
‘It’s getting sick’
“The pornographic pictures they distribute on this are getting sick,” says a grandmother of two elementary school children in Randfontein.
“Innocent children are involved in this group and one does not know who sits behind the child who distributes all this horrible material. It may be an adult who is part of some syndicate.
“I think the Gauteng Department of Education needs to intervene urgently. Parents must put their heads together and give evidence to the police and the department so that the whole affair can be investigated. ”
Steve Mabona, spokesperson for the Gauteng Department of Education, said on inquiry the distribution of pornographic material among pupils is viewed in a very serious light.
Parents should warn children
“Parents need to talk to their children about the dangers of pornography, harassment and extortion.”
He asked the Randfontein parents to contact the department’s district office immediately with evidence so that this issue could be thoroughly investigated and action taken.
Some of the photos distributed on the WhatsApp group include a digitally-manipulated photo of Hollywood actor Will Smith’s head affixed to a woman’s bare torso in place of his hair. Other photos depict anal sex and sex between two men and a woman.
The mother of the gr. 8-year-old says girls who say they are 16 or even younger advertise themselves on the WhatsApp group to boys. They even give a cellphone number to it.
Girls advertise themselves
“The moment the parents got a sniff, the group administrator closed it and that person’s cellphone is now out of order. Nothing stops another group from forming, adding school children and continuing with these activities, ”says the mother.
Marius Botha, an independent education consultant, says out of the 892 disciplinary hearings at schools in Gauteng, the Western Cape and the North West that he was involved in in 2018, half related to sexual portrayal on social media.
“The distribution of pornography is a violation of the Film and Publications Act, a criminal offense that can be prosecuted. Last week there was a case where the face of a photo of a Pretoria high school girl was used on a woman’s naked body and her family was extorted in such a way. It was later revealed that the person was behind the extortion in Australia. Deviant and distorted sex, which often depicts rape and torture, is also increasingly spread in schools, ”says Botha.
