Cape Town - The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital has called on parents and caregivers to be upfront about child abuse as most child injuries they have attended to were due to physical abuse and neglect.
Several cases of abuse, abandonment and neglect came to light in recent weeks.
The body of a newborn baby was found dumped in an open field in the Delft area on Monday. An 8-month old baby died in Bonteheuwel after he allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of his parents, and a 5-year old girl who was also recently admitted to Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital tested positive for crystal meth after alleged abuse by her parents.
Communications officer Dwayne Evans said from September 2019 to September 2020 there had been 66 cases of confirmed non-accidental injuries and another 146 suspected cases.
“Injuries ranged from bruising and dislocations to stabbings and even gunshot injuries.
“The complexity and severity of cases we see at the hospital is often high as we are a specialist paediatric facility and the paediatric trauma centre for paediatric cases,” he said.
Evans said some parents, or caregivers did not tell the whole story and tried to hide some aspects.
He said in some cases they believed they were protecting the other parent, a caregiver, family member or friend who committed the abuse, while in others it might be to hide illicit activities such as drug use or gang activity.
The head of social work at the hospital, Carla Brown, said the social work department also saw more than 652 potential abuse and neglect cases for the same period.
“Child protection is a significant burden on the health-care system, but the health department plays a very big role and has a responsibility in child protection as children naturally are recipients and clients of health care,” Brown said.
Molo Songololo director Patric Solomons said parents were the worst culprits and offenders of child neglect, abuse and abandonment.
“Babies and small children are particularly vulnerable, and most child abuse at the hands of parents go undetected.
“Those who are taken to clinics and hospitals for one or other injury are usually the worst cases, and some children die of their injuries,” he said.
Solomons said lack of community child care, protection mechanisms and home visits by social and health workers and educators resulted in many children suffering years of neglect and abuse.
“Poor report and vigilance from neighbours and community increase children’s vulnerability. Domestic violence, economic stress and substance abuse by parents can be fatal for many children,” he said.
Children’s Institute Director Shanaaz Mathews said implementing strategies that worked to reduce violence in the home, schools and community was critical to shift children’s experiences and reduce the long-term effects of violence.
“But, it is imperative that interventions be underpinned by sound evidence of the efficacy of interventions. We know multi-pronged approaches are more successful than just a parenting programme, as you need to shift both behaviour and social norms that feed this problem,” she said.
Cape Argus