Pene Kimber may not be very popular among Parktown Boys' High parents but she certainly has support on social networking site Facebook.
At least two groups have popped up since Kimber's son was allegedly assaulted during an initiation ceremony at the Druce hostel earlier this year.
The "Pene Kimber Is Right" group has 29 members while another group, "Support Kimber against Parktown Boys staff and parents who want them to get away with abuse" has nearly 100 members. Both groups want violent initiation ceremonies in schools to be stopped.
"Pene, the road you are walking is not easy. Don't let any man tell you that what you are doing is wrong. You are not bringing down the name of the school. The Grade12s did this all by themselves," wrote a member of one of the groups.
Another member writes that Kimber is being slated as a troublemaker when all she is doing is protecting her son.
"Abuse and violence at school is fine, as it is accepted by the headmaster. Where are all the other parents of kids who have been assaulted during initiation ceremonies? Why are you not standing up for your children's rights?"
But one group named "Initiation Exists!!! Accept that!!!" stands out with a whopping nearly 600 members - mostly Parktown Boys pupils and former pupils. Its description reads: "Been initiated? Given initiation? It exists, and your father and brothers and uncles and grandfathers probably got it too." One member writes that he got initiated at the school and "I took it like a man".
"Now it's my turn to pass the knowledge and courage I got from initiation to my fellow juniors. It's all for a good cause."
Other members were not as polite: "The little shit that ran to his mommy must grow up! It's tradition. If he wanted his privileges he should have earned them, by not being a wimp! And the fact that his mom brought the media into it is pathetic."
In another discussion board within this group one member urges boys to "harden the f*** up". "Kids coming up these days are such a bunch of p******. Initiation just makes them stronger and tougher, which is what they need.
"If they're going to their folks for something as minor as this then they do indeed need to harden the f*** up. Welcome to high school."
This week, the case against 12 matric pupils accused of assaulting Kimber's son and others during the February initiation was postponed again until June 18 for a pre-trial report.
On Thursday, Kimber was in court, accompanied by a bodyguard, to hear how the 12 pupils had admitted responsibility for their actions during assessments by social workers, without either admitting liability or accepting responsibility for what had happened.
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