The children of South Africa are paying a huge price as a result of the violence that they experience at home, at school and in their communities. They need help to cope with the trauma.
South Africa has an extremely violent society and is a country in which the incidence of crime and violence are well above the world average. There has been a great deal of attention focused on the problem of violent crimes such as car hijacking and armed robbery. However, very little attention is paid to the most dangerous area in our society − the home environment.
The Domestic Violence Act makes it a legal requirement for the police to keep a register of all cases of domestic violence reported to them at each station. Despite having this data, the police do not make it available to the public. Also cases of domestic violence are often recorded as common assault, grievous bodily harm and other such categories.
In 2009, three children per day were murdered. Of these children, 45% had been murdered through instances of child abuse and child neglect, with mothers being the worst perpetrators, and 74% of children killed in these circumstances were under five years old. Deaths from fatal child abuse were greater in girl children, and murders following rape accounted for 10% of children killed. Between 40% and 50% of rapes reported to SAPS (the real figure was probably higher) involved children under the age of 18. About 28% of abuse cases related to physical abuse and around 42% to emotional abuse. The list of violent acts against children seems never-ending.
Impact on children
Children very often become the silent victims. They may be victimised directly by being abused or indirectly through witnessing the horror of a parent being repeatedly abused and sometimes killed. They are the silent victims as their plight is seldom recognised or reported by the media and frequently their own family disregards the impact of their traumatic experiences.
The reality is that the lives of these children are literally shattered by their experiences. They have to cope with the trauma and the subsequent upheavals and changes in their life as a result of the incidents.
Post-traumatic stress reactions include numbness, detachment, withdrawal, impaired sleep and concentration, and fearfulness. These children also engage in post-traumatic play in which they repeatedly act out the events. This type of play is grim and repetitive and does not resemble the normal joyful play of children. Traumatised children commonly grow up with changed attitudes about themselves, life and others.
Long-term effects
These horrific childhood experiences have serious long-term impacts on child survivors. In the majority of cases, the incident was preceded by years of violence within the family or community and these children have been repeatedly traumatised. They may have grown up in an environment of pervasive terror, control and violence.
This childhood trauma appears to be a crucial factor in the development of a number of serious disorders in adult life, including being at a higher risk for perpetrating violence, suicide attempts, self-mutilation and personality disorders.
Conclusion
It is clear that children who are the victims of violence are severely emotionally wounded by their experience. Numerous children are at risk of being traumatised in this way. Unfortunately, the majority of them never receive help and family members often fail to understand the impact of their trauma. These children are at risk for longer-term difficulties and may themselves become perpetrators of violence. To break this ongoing cycle of violence, it is imperative that the plight of these children be taken in a very serious light.
More social and mental health services need to be provided for these children. Therapy can provide children with a space to work through the horror of their experience and hopefully integrate it in a more constructive way and minimise the negative longer-term impact. On a social level, women and children need to be given recognition and respect. It is within a society that devalues women and children that such crimes can be perpetrated. In the longer term, improved socio-economic conditions and education may reduce ignorance and the risk of such crimes being committed. It is essential that the police and the criminal justice system take violence seriously and intervene more readily. Above all, we need to publicly acknowledge the horror of violence and provide the silent victims with a strong voice against such atrocities.
Sources
Factsheet: South Africa’s official crime statistics for 2013/14. Retrieved from https://africacheck.org
Parliamentary Monitoring Group. 2014. Violence against Children and the consequences for South Africa. Retrieved from https://pmg.org.za
Revised by M van Deventer