A third of all rapes of schoolgirls in South Africa are carried out by teachers. The shocking statistic was published in a new survey carried out by the Medical Research Council (MRC) of South Africa. The report shows the number of reported rapes on girls below 15 years of age has doubled in the past decade and it is estimated that the reported attacks only represent about 10 per cent of actual crimes committed.

In one-third of cases studied by the MRC schoolteachers were the rapists, whilst in 25 per cent the perpetrators were relatives. A large proportion of those attacked by teachers said they were threatened with failure at school if they did not submit to sexual abuse.