December 6, 2005
By Buhle Makabane
A CHILDREN'S party in Alexandra, northern Johannesburg, last week was a bitter-sweet affair: it marked the second birthday of Kidz Clinic and coincided with the 16 Days of Activism campaign against woman and child abuse.
It also happened to take place on 1 December - World Aids Day - and a candle of hope was lit by South African Police Service (SAPS) Area Commissioner Oswald Reddy. The flame was then used to light other candles.
Kidz Clinic in Alexandra turns two
Organised by Wo+men Against Child Abuse, a non-governmental organisation, and the Vodacom Foundation, the party was held at the Alexandra Police Station, home to the Kidz Clinic. The clinic provides specialised treatment for abused children and serves as a "one stop friendly centre" for free medical and psychological treatment for the children.
"Kidz Clinic also offers a replica of a real-life courtroom, where the children are prepared for court procedure, [and so] preventing secondary trauma to the child," said Miranda Friedmann, the clinic director.
To date, the clinic had helped 1 176 children and their families. Its success underlined the vital role played by specialised child abuse clinics in bringing child abusers to book and removing them from society, Friedmann noted.
Wo+men Against Child Abuse lashed out at the abuse of children and criticised people's reluctance to report cases of child abuse to the police. Reddy urged people to work with the police. "If we work together the effort will not be the same as that of one individual."
Police officers, he added, had to treat victims with respect and dignity.
Medical examinations were carried out by Wo+men Against Child Abuse and the SAPS between June 2004 and June this year on children suspected of being sexually abused. They found that 69 percent of victims were girls; the balance were boys.
"We can no longer pretend that a faceless man lurking in a dark alleyway somewhere is abusing our children; 92 percent of children examined were abused by someone they know," said a statement from the organisation.
HIV/Aids has left some of these children in a persistent shadow of despair. One such child, a young girl with a big heart, stepped on to the podium and spoke about her experiences.
Another, a six-year-old, wrote in a poem, "I am an orphan today, tomorrow and forever. I am left alone without a grandmother and a mother, taken by you, killer disease."
After the solemn ceremony, about 250 children, many of whom have received help at the clinic, threw themselves into the party spirit, playing games, eating party food and receiving prizes.
Court report
A report from Hannelie Banks, the chief prosecutor in the Wynberg Court, stated that from 1 September to 30 November 2005, there were 16 new cases of rape and seven cases of indecent assault. Out of those, four were finalised as guilty, five were not guilty and three were withdrawn.
Problems were frequently encountered by the courts when dealing with cases of child abuse, her report said.
"Children between the ages of 13 and 16 sometimes lie about having had prior sexual intercourse, and when confronted by their parents they state that they have been raped.
"Sometimes they do not want the accused to be prosecuted. We also experience problems with parents arriving at court and wanting to withdraw charges because the families have resolved the matter themselves."
There were different problems regarding cases involving children up to the age of 10, the report continued.
"In cases where the father or step-father is the perpetrator, the child will initially disclose the abuse. At a later stage when the child is pressurised by the mother or fellow siblings or when the family is disrupted, the child will deny the incident."
Young children who had been abused over a period of time also tended to be inconsistent in their evidence because they became confused, Banks noted in her report.
Regarding the problems experienced with smaller children, Banks said the lack of social workers has been dealt with and SAPS and Wo+men Against Child Abuse had provided much-needed services.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
