The Teddy Bear Clinic in Parktown has seen its fair share of challenges over the years but the Covid-19 pandemic has left it reeling.
During the national lockdown, the clinic attended to more than 10 000 “clients”.
Of these, more than 8 000 were new cases.
The government’s gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide command centre recorded more than 120 000 GBV complaints in the first three weeks of lockdown. By mid-April, the call centre in Tshwane, received between 500 and 1 000 calls a day.
Women and children who suffered abuse or trauma since the national lockdown was declared in March, attended the intervention facility for services ranging from medical, psychological and court preparation support.
And despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges, the captain of the ship said it’s the very challenges that inspire them to be better.
The clinic has been providing assistance to Joburg’s most vulnerable citizens for the past 34 years.
Director, Shaheda Omar, who has been at the clinic for 21 years, said her “adverse” background was the deciding factor in her chosen career and her desire to be a healer.
“I actually wanted to pursue medicine, but here I am. I have great empathy for people. Reaching out to children especially, makes me feel more fulfilled. This is a labour of love,” she said.
Despite her “glass half full” outlook, Omar admitted that there are days when the work can be “soul-destroying” and ‘heartbreaking”. In the last two weeks the clinic had to assist a family where children, four years and younger, witnessed the murder of their mother at the hands of their father.
“In this particular case, the family was not even aware that the husband was out on bail. A child starts forming permanent memories from the age of 4 so we have to help those young children make sense of what they saw,” she said.
Recently the clinic learnt of two young children who committed suicide. In the first case, a 10-year-old boy hung himself in his house, and a 14-year-old girl ate rat poison.
“This is a clear case of where the warning signals were missed. When children become self-destructive, overtly aggressive or depressed, parents and caregivers should take action. We can no longer use the excuse that it’s not our business. We must make it our business to ensure that women and children are protected. Keep your nose in the business of the lives of children,” she said.
Omar did not mince her words in pointing out that the system is broken.
“We are now in the 16 Days of Activism. Then what? We should have a 365-day campaign,” she stressed.
Omar said while she is encouraged by the commitment of “diehard” police officers who are willing to go the extra mile, many still lack the training to deal with survivors of GBV.
“Pockets of excellence are limited. We tend to go to the same police officers who helped us before. I find there’s a lack of willingness, there is disrespect, disinterest and the police officers are also out of their depth,” she said.
When the Saturday Star visited the Teddy Bear Clinic this week we spoke to some parents whose children are in therapy at the facility.
“If it wasn’t for this place, I don’t know what I would have done. I got a call from my child’s school to say he is sexually aggressive towards other children. I had no idea what that meant, but now I do and I can help my child. I now also know what happened to him and why he is behaving like that, ” said one mother.
Another father admitted that he stays out of work to accompany his son to the weekly therapy sessions.
“I come here with my son and we continue the therapy at home. It was very difficult at first to understand what my son was doing but we are learning,” he said.
While the challenges are many, Omar said the clinic has a fantastic working relationship with the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital and some police officers and this adds some hope.
She also cautioned parents and caregivers to not drop their guard during the festive season saying this is the time when “opportunistic predators are most active.
* The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children Campaign (16 Days Campaign) is a United Nations campaign which takes place annually from November 25 (International Day of No Violence against Women) to 10 December 10 (International Human Rights Day).