Gang violence and bullying: The alarming reality in Western Cape education

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) revealed that 523 children have fallen victim to bullying during the first two school terms, from January to June 2025, with a large number of incidents related to gang violence.

The WCED Safe Schools centre received 69 reports of alleged bullying, 422 cases of assault on school premises which include fighting, hitting, kicking, pushing, shoving and 32 stabbings.  Fortunately, none of these incidents were fatal.

Spokesperson for the WCED Bronagh Hammond said that the district offices collaborate closely with schools to provide direct support in managing gang-related behaviour with key interventions including Back-to-School campaigns, learner-centered programmes on self-esteem, bullying prevention, restorative justice, conflict resolution and leadership development.

Hammond explained: “The WCED remains committed to making schools safe, inclusive, and conducive to learning. Through strategic partnerships, proactive planning, and data-informed decision-making, we aim to build resilience in schools and disrupt gang influence in communities.

"No child should ever experience bullying. Sadly, the reality is that children across the world continue to face bullying in various forms, whether physical, emotional, or online. It is a serious issue that demands the collective attention of parents, learners, schools, and the Department.

"Bullying is also addressed through the Life Orientation curriculum, supported by our Online Safety Curriculum Guideline, which equips learners with the tools to navigate digital spaces safely and responsibly. 

However, parents whose children are subjected to bullying feel that “the schools are doing nothing."

Recent incidents include a 15-year-old Grade 9 learner from Belgravia High School who was slapped in the face by two girls after being bullied last year.

The mother said her daughter does not want to attend school and fears that the she will repeat the year as it has affected her results.

Another mother is pleading for action to stop bullying at JG Meiring High School as she fears her child who is Grade 10 will take his life before someone listens.

Meanwhile, a Grade two learner from Garlandale Primary School was allegedly sexually assaulted by his classmate after being attacked in the boys bathroom.

When the Cape Argus' sister newspaper, the Daily Voice published these articles, more parents came forward asking for help, claiming no proactive action is being done.

One mother said: "I fear for my child’s life. They are targeting my child but I am applying to other schools because I want her out. But there is no progress.”

Founder of Parents For Equal Education, Vanessa Le Roux said they are demanding transparency from the WCED regarding their bullying programme.

"Clearly their bullying programme does not work. You can’t tick the box with the life of a child because one minute the child might look okay to you and the next moment that child is hanging from a rope," she said.

"The WCED needs to be transparent and show us what they mean when they say they have a bullying programme because we don’t know what it is.”

The WCED said they also collaborated with key safety stakeholders including, the police, Law Enforcement, Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety (POCS) and Community Police Forums (CPFs)

These partnerships have enabled increased patrol visibility before and after school hours, search-and-seizure operations where needed, deployment of 82 School Resource Officers across 41 schools within identified Area-Based Teams (ABTs).

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Cape Argus