MEDIA STATEMENT: EQUAL EDUCATION TREASURER RESIGNS, COMPLAINT SUBMITTED TO NATIONAL COUNCIL TO INVESTIGATE SEXUAL HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS
As a movement committed to principles of human dignity, social justice, and equality, Equal Education (EE) is deeply distressed by the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against the former Treasurer of Equal Education, Doron Isaacs.
Today, Friday 18 May, Doron submitted a letter to the National Council (NC) in which he has resigned as Treasurer of EE, and as a member of the organisation. He has not accepted any wrongdoing at this stage. He has indicated that he is prepared to submit himself to an independent investigation.
In the past month, Doron, former General Secretary Tshepo Motsepe, and former Head of National Organising Luyolo Mazwembe, have resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment. This has been an incredibly difficult period for Equal Education. We know that the trust and confidence which our supporters have placed in us, and the reputation which we have built over 10 years of struggle, has been damaged by what has transpired. However, we are committed to confronting these difficult times in our movement’s history, with honesty and with integrity.
We recognise this as an important moment of reckoning with class, race and gender power imbalances - issues that permeate our society as a whole. We care deeply about our core mission - the struggle for access to quality education for all - and we are determined to deal with these issues decisively.
We have acted swiftly to address every allegation that has been put before us. We have not communicated publicly about these processes at each step of the way because it would undermine the integrity of these processes. In addition we have acted in this way to protect those who have come forward as our primary concern.