Citation

de Villiers FP, Prentice MA. S. Afr. Med. J. 1996; 86(2): 147-150.

Affiliation

Child Abuse and Neglect Clinic, Transvaal Memorial Institute for Child Health and Development, Johannesburg.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, South African Medical Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8619140

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the patient profile encountered in the first year of operation of the Child Abuse and Neglect Clinic of the Transvaal Memorial Institute. DESIGN: Record review of all cases presenting to the Clinic from May 1988 to April 1989. RESULTS: Females comprised just over 80% of the 227 patients. Sexual abuse was the presenting complaint in 89.8%. Most were young, 7% under 3 and 55% under 10 years of age. Almost one-third of the boys and 5.0% of the girls had chronic signs of anal abuse. Of the girls 56% had signs of chronic and 10% signs of acute vaginal abuse. Where the certainty of sexual abuse was high, 60% of the girls and 45% of the boys had suffered penetrative abuse. The perpetrators were almost invariably known to the child; biological family members accounted for 38% of perpetrators, and if all relations are included (biological, step and 'common law'), family members were the perpetrators in 66% of cases. Strangers were the perpetrators in only 7% of our cases. The majority of perpetrators were male. Behaviour problems were recorded in 73% of cases. Many different problems were noted; the most common were school problems (21%), masturbation (19%), 'clingy' behaviour (12%), and withdrawal and depression (11.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Certainty of diagnosis should be specified. We use four categories: proven, highly suspected, unproven but still suspected, and no abuse. For sexual abuse we also differentiate between penetrative, non-penetrative, 'type uncertain' and no abuse. Training of other health personnel in child abuse management is now a priority in our setting.

Language: en