Child Abuse Research in South Africa

Child prostitution is amongst one of the globe’s most offensive crimes perpetrated against children. In most cases girls are the most affected as they are exploited for profit. The study was conducted in the border towns of Beitbridge and Plumtree. Beitbridge and Plumtree are located at the borders of Zimbabwe and South Africa and Botswana respectively. The study aimed at establishing the causes and prevalence of child prostitution in Zimbabwe. Due to the evasive nature of the area under study, qualitative research methods of face to face interviews and observation techniques were employed. Quantitative methods were also used to assess the prevalence rates of children in prostitution. Findings of the study indicated that there was a myriad of factors that caused child prostitution mainly poverty, absentee parents, peer pressure and exposure to risky lifestyles. Children were reported to constitute around 20% of female sex workers in the two towns. The study concluded that child prostitution was common and may increase due to the deepening poverty levels in Zimbabwe.

Child sexual abuse has become a cause for concern in the world in general, and in South Africa in particular. While the number of victims of child sexual abuse continues to increase every day, the growing number of perpetrators are either vindicated by the societies in which they reside or their identities remain concealed due to family ties, which provide the abusers with the opportunity to continue this sadistic behaviour. While some victims of child sexual abuse consequently die, those who are fortunate to survive are stigmatised for life. This essay has been influenced largely by my personal experience of the sexual abuse of my sister Naomi, whom I suspect succumbed to death as a result of rape in the early 1970s. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate that while the South African society has been grappling with numerous cases of child sexual abuse since time immemorial, both neglect to protect vulnerable children and reluctance to report the prevalence of the phenomenon tends to promote the practice.

The Catholic Church, Archdiocese of Cape Town, has recently released its policy to safeguard children and has trained lay members and clergy in terms of their responsibilities. In addition, the Catholic Church in Southern Africa has a Protocol for the Investigation of Complaints against Clerics and Religious [sic] regarding Sexual Abuse of Minors. This article contains a review of both the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Protocol for the Investigation of Complaints against Clerics and Religious [sic] Regarding Sexual Abuse of Minors in which the international, regional and national legal framework that relates to the protection of children against sexual abuse is examined in order to evaluate whether the substance of the Child Safeguarding Policy and procedures and the protocol are compliant with international, regional and national responsibilities. 

In addition, the lessons learnt from Catholic Church reports from other jurisdictions and a review undertaken of the Church of England Child Safeguarding Policy are highlighted in the article. The researcher attempts to provide recommendations on how the Archdiocese of Cape Town could improve the Child Safeguarding Policy and procedures and the Protocol for the Investigation of Complaints against Clerics and Religious [sic] Regarding Sexual Abuse of Minors within the Archdiocese.