Inequality fuels much of what is seen as antisocial behaviour in South Africa, writes Chiara Baumann.
Apathetic, uneducated, lazy, aggressive, lost, a ticking time bomb. These are words commonly associated with young people in South Africa. There are obvious and real structures of inequality that fuel much of the attitudes and behaviours underlying these perceptions.
And, in many cases, there is a deeper and intricately related cycle of violence and poverty that has set the stage for the social disengagement and destructive behaviour of young people.
According to a nationally representative study released by UCT and the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention last year, one in five (19.8 percent) young people reported having experienced some form of sexual abuse in their lifetimes.
More than a third (34.4 percent) said they had been hit, beaten, kicked or physically hurt by an adult who was supposed to be taking care of them at some stage, one in six (16.1 percent) reported experiencing emotional abuse, while one in five (23.1 percent) had witnessed violence perpetrated by an adult caregiver against a sibling or another adult in their homes.
South Africa is a country overwhelmed by violence and where safety, and the perception of safety, is under constant threat.
Most of this violence, which happens in homes, at schools and in neighbourhoods, goes undocumented.
And, with exposure to violence happening not once, but multiple times, in a young person’s life, there are few safe spaces left for them.
In addition, South Africa’s inadequate education system serves to only further limit their opportunities.
Violence and inequality are, of course,complexly related, the one perpetuating the other, given the significant and long-term implications that exposure to violence holds for individual lives and society in general.
Not everyone realises that beyond the obvious short- and long-term emotional trauma, exposure to violence can also impact and change the gene expression of a developing child. Epigenetic research over the past 15 years has shown that there is significant interaction between genes and their environment.
When a child is exposed to high levels of stress, especially when this happens repeatedly, the body’s stress response system is activated.
The body becomes geared towards fight-or-flight as opposed to exploration and learning.
Even when the stress stimulus is taken away, the brain continues to trigger an adaptive response that is about survival and not about thriving.
These genetic changes do not only affect the child, but are also transmitted to that child’s children and future generations.
We can quickly start to see the impact of exposure to violence on the behaviour of children.
According to the Medical Research Council, children between the ages of 0 and 2 years display signs of physical distress such as sleeping or eating difficulties, while children between the ages of 3 and6 may lose recently acquired developmental skills including narrative coherency, which is necessary for reading, writing and communication.
In children of primary school age, symptoms may manifest in hyperactivity, distractibility and increased impulsiveness.
These may be mistakenly attributed to an attention deficit or conduct disorder and result in punitive parenting styles.
Older children and adolescents who have been exposed to violence may become disengaged and non-communicative, unable to envision a long-term future for themselves.
Their defeatist reactions and terminal thinking negatively impacts their moral development, resulting in a lack of empathy and concern about the consequences of their actions towards others.
Or, they may become defiant, aggressive and display reckless behaviour patterns which increase their risk of engaging in substance abuse, criminal activity and violence, thereby exposing them to further violence.
The implications of the developmental and behavioural issues triggered by exposure toviolence is far-reaching and curbs an individual’s ability to live out his or her life potential.
The next time you regard young people as apathetic, uneducated, lazy or aggressive, you would do well to first think about what they have seen, heard and felt in their short lives so far.
There have, of course, been ongoing social welfare efforts to address this problem and recently we are seeing some creative responses emerging, like Waves For Change, an award-winning “surf therapy” and community-building organisation, operating in communities that experience high levels of violence.
But what can we as ordinary South Africans do to ensure that the innocent lives of children are better protected and that more children have the option of living out their potential as adults?
What is needed is for many of us to start finding ways of showing ongoing, supportive interest in our young people and children.
There is deep power in something so ordinary that it is often taken for granted: relationships and networks.
You can, for example, stand by the caregivers of a child at risk and become a witness to that child’s unfolding life.
By ensuring that children and young people are connected into our various networks of care and support, we are not simply improving the life chances of individuals, we are investing in our common future as South Africans.
To see how you can contribute to real change in South Africa by supporting the development and welfare of children as an ordinary citizen or as part of community-based projects, see www.dgmt.co.za/change-south-africa/
*Chiara Baumann is a portfolio manager at the DG Murray Trust.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
Cape Argus