Deaf, mute teen gang-raped
May 10, 2010 9:50 AM | By Sapa
A 17-year-old mute and deaf girl from
Pongola in KwaZulu-Natal is
pregnant after she was allegedly gang-raped
by three teenagers, police said on
Monday.
Current Font Size:
“The girl was allegedly raped during the
Easter weekend in Nongoma when she visited her
relatives. She did not report the incident because
she can’t speak and she cannot hear,” said
Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Mdunge.
The teenager’s guardians found out about
the rape when they noticed she was pregnant,
he said.
“The girl was interviewed and she revealed
that she was gang-raped.
“Three teenagers, one aged 17 and two aged
16, have been arrested and they will appear in
court today (Monday) at Nongoma Magistrate’s
Court.”
High Court Reporter
The mother of a Secunda pupil is claiming R2.1 million
in damages from the Mpumalanga MEC for education,
after her daughter went deaf in one ear when
a fellow pupil shouted near her with a megaphone.
Judith Broodryk said in papers before the Pretoria
High Court that the teachers at the Oranjegloed
Primary School in Secunda had a duty to take
care of pupils during school hours.
She blamed the accident on them, claiming that
they failed to keep the children under control.
Broodryk's daughter, also named Judith, was 13
when the incident occurred in February 2005.
She said a boy, who was either permitted or given
control of a megaphone, shouted into it near
her daughter's ear.
The incident, Broodryk stated, was caused by the
negligence of the teachers, because they failed
to make sure that none of the children got hold
of the megaphone.
She said they also permitted the children to handle
the megaphone without instructing them how to use
it.
They were also not warned about the dangers involved
in the use of the megaphone, she said.
Apart from permanently losing the hearing in her
right ear, Judith had severe pain.
She will have to undergo further treatment in future.
The mother's claim included R1.4m for hearing aids
as it is estimated that Judith will need 10 replacements
during her lifetime.
She will also have to undergo psychotherapy and
consult audiologists as well as ear, nose and throat
surgeons.
Her mother also claimed R350 000 in damages
for pain and suffering, and the fact that she is
now partially disabled.
Broodryk stated that the MEC for education was
liable for the damages, as Oranjegloed Primary
School is a public school under the control of
the Education Department, which employs the teachers.
The teachers, it is stated, had a duty to control
and supervise the pupils during school hours.
While the education authorities acknowledged this,
they denied that the incident ever occurred and
that Judith was left partially deaf as a result
of the megaphone being operated close to her ear.
No date has been set for the hearing.
- This article was originally published
on page 6 of Pretoria
News on June 02, 2010
Deaf teacher gets management post
February 06, 2006 Edition 1
Barbara Cole
Durban teacher Ingrid Parkin has become the
first Deaf deputy principal of a school in the
history of education in the developing world.
Parkin, 33, has taken over the management post
at the Fulton School for the Deaf in Gillitts,
where she has been teaching for the past nine
years.
And the pupils are delighted as they feel that
for the first time someone in a management position
understands what it is like to be Deaf and that
they are represented at the top level.
Parkin points out that Deaf should always be
spelled with a capital D as it is a language
and a cultural group - and the biggest disability
group in the country with 1.5 million Deaf sign
language users.
She says it is a big achievement for the Deaf
community as it proves there is nothing a Deaf
person cannot do.
A highly-qualified teacher, Parkin is also on
the national task team set up by the government
to develop sign language and to come up with
a dictionary, as well as being the education
consultant for DeafSA, the Deaf foundation.
And she is ambitious, having set herself a goal
of getting somewhere within 10 years, or she
would move on and perhaps become a consultant,
advising universities on the needs of the Deaf
and their rights in the workplace.
But then, just after the birth of her second
daughter, Shayla, now four months old - her other
daughter, Leya, is three - she was interviewed
for the deputy principal's post and landed the
job in time for the start of the school year.
She is still teaching and wants to use her new
position to raise the level of sign language
among teachers.
"Teachers have different levels of proficiency," she
explained.
According to a survey, only 14% of people teaching
the Deaf could "sign" properly and this was
a huge problem.
Aims
One of her aims was to make the whole curriculum
accessible to pupils.
Parkin said that many Deaf children born to
hearing parents who did not do sign language
went to school with no language whatsoever.
"They had six wasted years before coming to
school. Some did not even know their own names," she
said, Parkin added that parents should be encouraged
to learn the language of the Deaf.
"Parents of Deaf children don't have to have
low expectations of them anymore."
Parkin pointed out that Fulton ran sign language
classes on Saturdays.
She said she would like to represent Deaf people
in the national education department.
Had the introduction of sign language in news
bulletins not helped, we asked?
While it was a "wonderful foot in the door," there
were many who would prefer sub-titles as there
were many different dialects of sign language
and not everyone understood them.
Parkin is married to Olympic swimmer, Terence
Parkin, and their daughters can both hear.
The oldest, Leya, began learning sign language
at seven months.
TV Interpreters
Letter to all :
Dept of Linguistics is issuing a survey about
TV-interpreters. They want to hear the
deaf people’s comments about TV-interpreters
and TV-subtitles. They want to know if
the Deaf community of SA understand the interpreters
and if they are satisfied with them and what
to do, to improve (make it better) them. Please
do not ignore this questionnaire or do not throw
it in the dustbin. If you do so then we
cannot help you and tell SABC what your problem
is. You will then not benefit from it. Please
read the form (click underline) SA.TV.surveyEng.doc Print out, write down and send it back via e-mail to wehrmje@unisa.ac.za.or
post to:
Mrs J. Wehrmeyer
Dept Linguistics TvW 9-84
PO Box 392
Unisa
Pretoria 0003
Please send this to other deaf people
you know about.
Thank you very much!
Karina van Aarde
Department : Student Assessment
AdministrationSection: Administration:
S A Sign Language: Division
Theo van Wijk Building, 9-63
PO Box 392
UNISA
0003
e-mail: vaardk@unisa.ac.za
Tel: (012) 429-3012/6649
Cell : 072 899 2021 (sms
only)
|
South African Rand Exchange Rate
