Johannesburg - South African schoolgirls are being raped and sexually assaulted by classmates and teachers at an alarming rate, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report issued yesterday.
The report described widespread human rights abuses at the country's schools and provided further evidence that South Africa was gripped by sexual violence.
"It's very widespread . . . Girls are being raped, sexually abused, sexually harassed and assaulted," Ms Erika George, the report's author, said.
Human Rights Watch interviewed 36 victims including a nine-year-old who was gang-raped by classmates and a 15-year-old sexually assaulted by her teacher.