Citation

Phasha N. Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci. 2010; 2(2): 5518-5522.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.900

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The removal of children from their homes in case of sexual abuse by a close relative or neighbour may be criticized as increasing their level of distress. However reports by 22 young survivors of child sexual abuse in South Africa proved otherwise. The findings revealed that alternative placement (especially a welfare institution) could help in facilitating recovery from the negative consequences of child sexual abuse because it permits separation from the abusers, a place where the abuse had occurred and from people who reacted negatively towards them after disclosure. When removed to alternative placements, their sense of security increased and they also they benefit from the presence of additional support received from agencies and community members who provided volunteer services to the welfare agencies. They also had access to professional therapy. The recommendation is that alternative placement ease negative consequences of child sexual abuse, however it should not be prolonged. It could be effective if it is accompanied by regular home visits during weekends and holidays. Also, non-abusive family members should be encouraged to visit the child in an alternative placement. While removed from their homes, their safety should not in any way be threatened and they should receive proper treatment from care workers. The findings reported in this paper were obtained by means of in-depth interviews conducted on one-to-one basis with young survivors recruited at welfare institutions in South Africa by means of snowballing. Participants were in the age range of 16-23 years, and belonged to three racial groups in South Africa: White, Coloured (mixed race) and Blacks. All children have been sexually abused by either a close relative or a neighbour. They were 21 females and a male.