Johannesburg - A recent survey on children living with disabilities has revealed shocking information on the abuse of disabled children in Orange Farm, South of Joburg.
In a sample of 22 cases of victims ranging in age between 6 and 27, mostly in Orange Farm, it was found that most of the perpetrators were known to their victims.
The sample included 13 female and eight male victims - one victim had two cases -who suffered intellectual and physical disabilities as well as children with autism syndrome disorder.
Sixteen of the children were sexually abused, two were emotionally abused, two others physically abused, one neglected, one kidnapped and one forced to marry an older man.
This revelation was made at Afrika Tikkun’s annual dialogue on children’s issues on Monday to mark Child Protection Week.
Afrika Tikkun, through their Cradle to Career model, support children from infancy to adulthood by investing in education, social services and health.
The organisation’s key focus this year is on rights of children living with disabilities.
The survey revealed that most of the cases were reported to police, social workers, clinics and schools but two were turned away by the SAPS and a couple were not reported by the teachers.
According to the Children’s Act of 2005, a professional working with children is obliged to report cases of abuse. But in cases of these children, it appears nothing was done.
It was also found that in certain instances no evidence was actually gathered and in two cases, the victims fell pregnant.
Only three cases made it to court and only one perpetrator was convicted.
In addition to the field report, a number of advocacy projects were formulated to aid the youth in accessing services including teenage contraception and reporting of sexual abuse.
It also included an empower-ment programme for parents of children with disabilities in Orange Farm.
In association with the University of Johannesburg, Afrika Tikkun’s case adiminstrator Rachel Maisha and a team of co-researchers also carried out a survey among 63 caregivers in 2014 and then again in 2016 to see whether they had become empowered.
Maisha said the case studies used empowerment questionnaires and also assessed whether changes in their attitude were significant.
Maisha said the response was positive with many stating a newly acquired knowledge of the safety issues with regard to their disabled children.
“There are still reasons why abuse happens but many began standing up for their children. Also the caregivers changed their attitude to the children and many were more comfortable letting them go outdoors,” said Maisha.
An advocacy programme carried out in response to the survey was created in conjunction with UJ.
As a case administrator, Maisha worked with the caregivers to help them access services and understand their rights.
A 2015 Unicef (UN Children's Emergency Fund) report said 70 percent of adolescents were unaware of sexuality and reproductive health.
“Many people believe that pupils with disabilities are not sexual beings and we found that expected outcomes of educating the youth include delayed sexual debut, increased condom use and more responsibility for contraception,” said Paul Chappell of UJ.
Duzenendlela School peer educators also attended a comprehensive workshop where they were trained for five days to carry out the “All about me” course.
This equipped them to teach their peers on subjects like masturbation, wet dreams and sexual and reproductive health.
Led by the Department of Social Development, Child Protection Week has become an annual campaign to educate and mobilise communities to put children first as well as understanding the perspective of holistic development of the child.
The Star