Cape Town - A Mitchells Plain mother says Childline have failed her three-year-old daughter who was raped in August, allegedly by her own father.
The 39-year-old mother says to date, not only has the alleged perpetrator not been arrested, but her little girl has not received any counselling.
“She kept complaining that her koekie (vagina) and bum were sore,” the mom explains.
“My mother asked her who did it, as she did not want to tell me and she said: ‘Dadda made my koekie (vagina) sore’.
“The doctor confirmed someone messed with fingers in her vagina.
“My child was also penetrated from the back [anally], haar vel het geskeur (Her flesh tore).”
She says police handed the matter to Childline.
“But she has not received any counselling. I feel Childline has failed my child.
“They called me to say she will get counselling in October. To date, nothing.”
She says as a result, her daughter is now “acting out”.
“She is loving one moment, in a split second she starts throwing things, breaking her doll’s head.
“She speaks to her Barbie and says: ‘Dadda puts his fingers in my koekie (vagina)’.
“She pretends talking on the phone and says: ‘my daddy licked my koekie’, and she’s touching herself.
“He has not even been arrested. Because of the law, the child is still too young to come before a court to testify, but the case may come up again when she’s older. I don’t know what to do anymore. I cry every day.”
Denied
The mom says when she confronted her ex, he denied abusing their daughter.
She hasn’t seen him since August.
“I just want to see him pay for what he did,” she says.
Childline’s Executive Director, Ricki J. Fransman, said they are severely short-staffed and had an “extremely long” waiting list.
“Currently the daughter is on our waiting list and contact will be made with the mother in the new year,” he says.
“In the case of our Mitchells Plain office, we have two social workers who are serving both the Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha areas.
“Both these areas have extremely high instances of GBV (Gender-based violence) and trauma and our staffing capacity does not allow for us to meet the need to service delivery as quickly as we would like to, or as is needed.”