Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Edited by Linda Richter, Andrew Dawes and Craig Higson-Smith Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Compiled by the Child, Youth and Family Development Research Programme, Human Sciences Research Council Published by HSRC Press Private Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za © 2004 Human Sciences Research Council Funded by the Ford Foundation First published 2004 Second impression 2005 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. ISBN 0 7969 2053 2 Cover by Amaal Bruwer Production by comPress Distributed in Africa by Blue Weaver Marketing and Distribution, PO Box 30370, Tokai, Cape Town, 1966, South Africa. Tel: +27 +21-701-4477 Fax: +27 +21-701-7302 email: booksales@hsrc.ac.za Distributed worldwide, except Africa, by Independent Publishers Group, 814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610, USA. www.ipgbook.com To order, call toll-free: 1-800-888-4741 All other enquiries, Tel: +1 +312-337-0747 Fax: +1 +312-337-5985 email: Frontdesk@ipgbook.com Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Contents Foreword ix Graça Machel Note from the Ford Foundation xi Dr Gerry Salole Acknowledgements xiii Abbreviations xiv 1. Confronting the problem 1 Andrew Dawes, Linda Richter and Craig Higson-Smith Section I: Talking about child sexual abuse 19 2. The many kinds of sexual abuse of young children 21 Linda Richter and Craig Higson-Smith 3. Media representations of baby rape: the case of ‘Baby Tshepang’ 36 William Bird and Nicola Spurr Section II: Understanding child sexual abuse 53 4. Individual and contextual factors associated with the sexual abuse of children under 12: a review of recent literature 55 Loraine Townsend and Andrew Dawes 5. The socio-cultural context of child abuse: a betrayal of trust 95 Mthobeli Guma and Nomvo Henda 6. Responses to gender-based violence in schools 110 Heather Brookes and Craig Higson-Smith Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za 7. Child sexual abuse and HIV infection 130 Rachel Jewkes 8. Commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children 143 Craig Higson-Smith and Linda Richter 9. Measurement and monitoring 176 Andrew Dawes, Jacqueline Borel-Saladin and Zareena Parker Section III: Legal and policy responses 207 10. Legal definitions and practices in child sexual abuse 209 Jacqui Gallinetti 11. Challenges of service evaluation in the Wynberg and Cape Town Sexual Offences Courts and their related services 227 Mastoera Sadan 12. Policy responses to child sexual abuse in South Africa 250 Jackie Loffell 13. At the coalface: the Childline experience 263 Joan van Niekerk 14. Advocacy on behalf of sexually abused children: research and policy issues arising from a case study 276 Deborah Ewing 15. The Report of the Parliamentary Task Group on the sexual abuse of children 2002: a commentary 304 Rose September Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Section IV: Clinical and therapeutic responses 333 16. Access to specialist services and the criminal justice system: data from the Teddy Bear Clinic 335 Craig Higson-Smith, Luke Lamprecht and Lorna Jacklin 17. Doing something: the initiation of sexual abuse services in Soweto 356 Chrissie Mkhasibe with René Brandt 18. Therapeutic approaches to sexually abused children 367 Beverley Killian and Jonathan Brakarsh 19. Case studies of child sexual abuse in Zimbabwe 395 Clare Rudd 20. Armed conflict and the sexual abuse of children in Mozambique 411 Boia Efraime Junior Section V: Reflections 427 21. Research on child sexual abuse: some problems and comments (Nog ’ n klip in die bos) 429 Ann Levett 22. Are we any closer to solutions? 452 Linda Richter, Andrew Dawes and Craig Higson-Smith Contributors 467 Index 473 Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Foreword Recently the horror of child sexual abuse in southern Africa has been pushed to the forefront of public consciousness. It is impossible to describe the physical and emotional wounds that children who have been violated are left to deal with. Sexual abuse causes terrible pain at the time of the assault and can leave scars that linger on in children’s lives in a multitude of ways, threatening their physical and emotional well-being and development, their sense of self, their right to health and happiness. Some say that the incidence of this horrendous crime is increasing; others say that there is a higher rate of reporting of such abuse; yet others say that such crimes have been exploited by sensationalists. Whatever the strengths or weaknesses of such arguments, surely it must be clear to us as adults, as par- ents, as human beings – that while even one child suffers from this horror, that is one child too many. And we all know that we are not dealing with only one child or one isolated case. Our estimates may not always be accurate, but those working in communities know the enormity of the problem. The incidence of child sexual abuse in southern Africa is high enough to be seen as an assault, a war upon our children. And in the African tradition that I have been a part of, any assault on our children is an assault on ourselves – our integrity, our families, our communities, indeed the very essence of our humanity. The ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child marked an important step toward developing and implementing policies that would protect children’s rights. Sexual abuse clearly constitutes a violation of such rights, resulting in an obligation on the part of the state to ensure that effective and appropriate steps are taken to address the problem. Yet this responsibility of the state for action must encompass and be supported by our individual responsibility and actions as well. As adults, I believe we have a responsibility towards children. This respon- sibility should motivate and mobilise us all – individuals, civil society, and ix Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF YOUNG CHILDREN IN SOUTHERN AFRICA x government – to obliterate the scourge of child sexual abuse from our region and beyond. Let us act together to show our love for our children – and let us do it now. Graça Machel Foundation for Community Development Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za [...]... common with Finkelhor’s point about the defining nature of intended sexual arousal, Korbin comments that where the purpose of the act is the sexual arousal of the initiator, then one is speaking of a sexual act When a child is the object of such attention, and if the act is deemed culturally inappropriate, it is fitting to speak of the act as sexual abuse As Korbin puts it: ‘Child sexual abuse is best... experiences of individuals exposed to the frequently shocking sequelae of abuse In Chapter 2, Linda Richter and Craig Higson-Smith confront us with some of the appalling realities of violent sexual abuse and the rape of young children Their contribution presents material we do not want to see or know about, but need to if we are going to begin to understand what is involved in the sexual abuse of young children. .. aid in providing rules concerning who may touch whom, how and when Caregivers frequently touch children s genitals in the course of the routine care of young children In addition, Korbin points out that in a number of societies, adults touch the sexual organs of children as part of ritual practices For example, a Turkish practice of kissing and praising a baby’s genitals recognises the promise of future... for sexual relations and for their violation While having a number of commonalities, the meaning of sexual abuse is variable across cultures (Korbin, 1990) The rape of infants is proscribed in all cultures, and in the case of incest, Korbin notes ‘virtually all societies have proscriptions… on sexual behaviour among related individuals’ (p 47) Contemporary definitions of abuse cover a wide range of. .. 1981 in Korbin, 1990) In New Guinea highland communities, ‘grasping the testicles of an adult male was…a form of non -sexual greeting’ (Korbin, p 43) In neither case is the contact seen as a sexual act, but other communities ignorant of local practice might label these behaviours as sexual abuse In multicultural communities such as those in southern Africa, possibilities for misinterpretations abound In. .. the rape of pre-pubescent children Indeed, concern is developing that the media itself may play a role in perpetuating and extending these beliefs, thereby unintentionally contributing to the rape of children by HIV-infected men who come to believe that there must be something in the story Jewkes also investigates other ways in which HIV infection may influence the prevalence of child sexual abuse The... significant extent in future Craig Higson-Smith and Linda Richter argue that both the commercial sexual exploitation of children and trafficking in children are significant and growing problems in southern Africa Although sex tourism is one aspect of this problem, the underlying causes of the sexual exploitation of children are firmly embedded in social inequalities, corruption, gender discrimination, cheap... Child sexual abuse A cross-cultural view In R K Oates (Ed.), Understanding and managing child sexual abuse (pp 42–58) Sydney: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Leventhal, J M (1990) Epidemiology of child sexual abuse In R K Oates (Ed.), Understanding and managing child sexual abuse (pp 18–41) Sydney: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Levett, A (1994) Problems of cultural imperialism in the study of child sexual abuse In. .. onequarter of perpetrators in reported cases Rudd’s account of the Zimbabwean situation suggests similar patterns of abuse to those observed in South Africa The final chapter in this section takes us to Mozambique Many regions on the continent of Africa have been wracked by civil war in the past 30 years The southern African region has been no exception The victimisation of women and children, including sexual. .. improved care and services for the many affected children on the subcontinent We trust too that readers will take note of one of the main underlying dynamics of the problem of child sexual abuse, rape and related violence against women and children in southern Africa This is the inclination of men to assume that women and children are naturally subordinate to them and are bound to serve their needs . be of xi Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF YOUNG CHILDREN IN SOUTHERN AFRICA xii assistance to those working in the field of. an agenda for furthering our understanding of sexual abuse of pre-pubertal children, that is, children younger than 12 years of age. The initial intention was