Amount of child abuse in Alex is alarming
ALEXANDRA - Recent exposure of child abuse in Alexandra has brought to the limelight the community's dark side and failure to protect its future generation.
The recent spate of child abuse in Alexandra has brought to the limelight the community’s dark side and its failure to protect its future generation.
Ironically, this revelation coincided with Child Protection Week and International Children’s Rights Day when society should have been celebrating achievements in advancing children’s rights. The cases which resulted in the police rescuing children who had been caged, presumably for years in Nobuhle hostel, and another who had been locked in a shack at Setswetla informal settlement, involved the children’s parents who now await a court verdict. (Click here to read more)
Reacting to the incidents, councillor Lilian Kekana whose ward includes Setswetla said Alexandra, children were at risk in their homes where they should be protected, and that this may result from moral decay and the erosion of family and societal values.
“Our daily lives are no longer guided by ubuntu principles which promote caring and neighbourliness. Families and communities have abdicated their responsibilities to the second tier of children’s security and welfare – the police, social workers and teachers,” she said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a South African police services official said Alexandra presented the highest number of child abuse compared with other areas in the Alexandra cluster which include Sandton, Bramley, Sandrigham and Midrand. The officer said handling a case of child abuse was not only a criminal matter which police were trained to handle, but also evoked emotions for the officers involved as it challenged their moral values.
“In many instances they [police] respond by using their own resources to feed and cloth hungry children. Just like the victimised children, this leaves them traumatised. But as adults, they can’t sit back in anticipation of support from elsewhere when the children need immediate help,” the officer stressed.
The officer also agreed with the notion of moral decay as a contributing factor. “Principles of ubuntu have been replaced with heartless, aggressive attitudes, individualism and people being cold to each other, with most opting to turn a blind eye to problems of child abuse happening within the home or next door,” the officer said.
Despite this, the officer is hopeful child abuse can be contained through dedicated and aggressive campaigns by all stakeholders – community, government, non-profit organisations, the private sector, churches, schools and sports bodies.
“This platform would broaden understanding of the nature and types of abuse everyone should watch out for,” the officer concluded.
How can child abuse in Alexandra come to an end?
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