Walvis school sex shock

THE Walvis Bay community is in a state of shock after reports that schoolgoing girls as young as 11 and 12 years are having sexual relations with older men.

Young boys are also reportedly sodomised by older men in exchange for payment, while struggling parents are said to encourage their daughters to start relationships to supplement their income. The issue reached boiling point last week when the Narraville Primary School organised an emergency parents meeting following the disappearance of a Grade 7 pupil at the school.The young girl went out on Friday night and when she had not returned by Sunday her parents raised the alarm by going to the school principal and Police.When she was found, she confessed to having an intimate relationship with an older man.Another girl was implicated and between the two of them they named about eight men, aged between 18 and 22 years, they had been seeing over the past two years.According to the girls they were encouraged by the men to bring their friends along.The names of four girls in the secondary school were also revealed.”This is a shocking state of affairs and cause for grave concern,” Paul Fisher, Principal of the Narraville Primary School told The Namibian yesterday.He called an urgent meeting last Tuesday which was attended by about 600 parents.”It was a very emotional affair,” said Mogamat Falie Saban, spokesperson of the Narraville School Board yesterday.He said waves of shock and anger washed over the meeting as more and more details and stories emerged.These included young boys who are sodomised and parents “selling their daughters” to get more money for the family.According to Fisher some prominent, well-to-do members of Walvis Bay society are also implicated.In what he called a “cross-suburb issue”, Fisher said schoolchildren from Narraville would go to Kuisebmond or Walvis Bay where they would not be recognised or known to be still in school.”People know what is going on but they keep quiet.They are too scared of having to go to court and getting a bad name in society,” Fisher said.He decided to call the meeting to start an awareness drive.”We have to inform the public of what is going on so we can support each other now and in the future,” said Saban.According to Fisher, the decline in norms and values in society can mainly be attributed to poor conditions at home.”There are broken homes, poverty and a lack of space that force them onto the streets”.According to a source working in the field, there is a lot of peer pressure on young girls to boast about having a 22-year-old boyfriend.”You are definitely not in the in-crowd if you are still a virgin.It is not unusual any more that 12-year-olds are sexually active,” said the source.The School Board’s Saban hopes the case of the two Narraville Primary girls will go all the way to court to deter older men from sleeping with under-age girls.The parents reported the incident to the Police and the State has opened a charge sheet as the girls involved are younger than 16 years.In terms of the law, a person is not allowed to have sex with children younger than 16.The Women and Child Protection Unit of the Police is investigating the case by taking statements.The docket will be handed over to the Magistrate’s Court to decide whether and who to lay charges against.Fisher is planning to organise a march involving all schools in Walvis Bay to further raise awareness of the problem.The issue reached boiling point last week when the Narraville Primary School organised an emergency parents meeting following the disappearance of a Grade 7 pupil at the school.The young girl went out on Friday night and when she had not returned by Sunday her parents raised the alarm by going to the school principal and Police.When she was found, she confessed to having an intimate relationship with an older man.Another girl was implicated and between the two of them they named about eight men, aged between 18 and 22 years, they had been seeing over the past two years.According to the girls they were encouraged by the men to bring their friends along.The names of four girls in the secondary school were also revealed.”This is a shocking state of affairs and cause for grave concern,” Paul Fisher, Principal of the Narraville Primary School told The Namibian yesterday.He called an urgent meeting last Tuesday which was attended by about 600 parents.”It was a very emotional affair,” said Mogamat Falie Saban, spokesperson of the Narraville School Board yesterday.He said waves of shock and anger washed over the meeting as more and more details and stories emerged.These included young boys who are sodomised and parents “selling their daughters” to get more money for the family.According to Fisher some prominent, well-to-do members of Walvis Bay society are also implicated.In what he called a “cross-suburb issue”, Fisher said schoolchildren from Narraville would go to Kuisebmond or Walvis Bay where they would not be recognised or known to be still in school.”People know what is going on but they keep quiet.They are too scared of having to go to court and getting a bad name in society,” Fisher said.He decided to call the meeting to start an awareness drive.”We have to inform the public of what is going on so we can support each other now and in the future,” said Saban.According to Fisher, the decline in norms and values in society can mainly be attributed to poor conditions at home.”There are broken homes, poverty and a lack of space that force them onto the streets”.According to a source working in the field, there is a lot of peer pressure on young girls to boast about having a 22-year-old boyfriend.”You are definitely not in the in-crowd if you are still a virgin.It is not unusual any more that 12-year-olds are sexually active,” said the source.The School Board’s Saban hopes the case of the two Narraville Primary girls will go all the way to court to deter older men from sleeping with under-age girls.The parents reported the incident to the Police and the State has opened a charge sheet as the girls involved are younger than 16 years.In terms of the law, a person is not allowed to have sex with children younger than 16.The Women and Child Protection Unit of the Police is investigating the case by taking statements.The docket will be handed over to the Magistrate’s Court to decide whether and who to lay charges against.Fisher is planning to organise a march involving all schools in Walvis Bay to further raise awareness of the problem.