Perceptions of Pedi-speaking caregivers regarding the disclosure of child sexual abuse

Abstract

As a social worker working for the Department of Social Development, the researcher is rendering services to the Polokwane surrounding areas in Ga-maraba village in Limpopo Province. The beneficiaries of these services are mostly Pedi-speaking people under the leadership of Chief Maraba. Ga-maraba area is located approximately 40 km away from Polokwane city. When rendering services to the Pedi families, the researcher has observed that a number of child sexual abuse cases occur, which are not reported due to what Pedi culture validates as being sexual abuse. Most of the children in these cases are being sexually abused both by family members and non-family members, and such incidents are not reported. After these observations, the researcher was triggered to investigate what might be the cause, unfortunately no study has been conducted in this specific geographic area of Ga-maraba. The aim of the research was to explore the perceptions of Pedi-speaking caregivers concerning the disclosure of child sexual abuse in order to gain insight into the possible contributory factors and the knowledge of these caregivers about what constitutes child sexual abuse as well as to empower them to disclose child sexual abuse. Purposive sampling was conducted among the Pedi-speaking caregivers. This research reveals that Pedi culture regards rape as child sexual abuse and the other sexual offences according to criminal law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act 32/2007) are regarded as minor things and taboos. These findings clearly indicate that Pedi-speaking care-givers do not possess adequate knowledge of child sexual abuse. As a result, there is a need for the establishment of proper programmes that address child sexual abuse in the area of Ga-maraba and the areas around Polokwane. The findings also indicate that when such cases arise in the Pedi community, they are not disclosed to the outside world, the families affected prefer to resolve these problems among themselves, and traditional courts intervene if the families disagree.