School abuse claim: mother tells parents to watch for the signs

A mother whose account of a conversation with her daughter drew wide attention online has urged parents to watch their children closely for changes in behaviour, saying a child who starts acting strangely may be trying to say something without saying it.

In an interview broadcast by eNCA (YouTube), she said her daughter told her about an incident at school that had happened the day before, and that it was not the first time. The interview did not identify the school, the people involved or the nature of the incident, and the Enquirer has not independently established those details.

The mother said she had initially assumed her daughter was being bullied, because the child said nothing on the day of the incident and only raised it the following morning. She described her daughter as talkative and said the two of them have many conversations, which she said made it easier for the child to tell her what had happened.

Asked what she would say to young people going through something similar, she said they need to talk and to tell their parents, girls and boys alike, and that they should not hide it. She said such things do happen at school.

She was also asked what she wants from the education department on vetting. She said schools need to take serious safety precautions and carry out background checks on teachers, describing educators as second parents to children during the school day. She said it was sad that the incident happened on school premises during school hours, because a parent expects school to be the safest place a child can be.

Her advice to parents was plain: know your child, and act when your child starts acting strange.

The broadcast did not say what action, if any, the school or the education department has taken.