Child sexual abuse investigations: Complexities social workers experience in South Africa

South Africa has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. This protection is explicitly stated in the South African Constitution and... [ view full abstract ]

South Africa has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. This protection is explicitly stated in the South African Constitution and other South African legislation on children’s rights such as the Children’s Act 35 of 2005 and its amendments 41 of 2007. This paper presents the outcome of a qualitative study, by using a collective case study design (De Vos, Strydom, Fouche, and Delport, 2011). Thirty-eight social workers were purposively selected representing three NGO’s in six different provinces in South Africa. Three focus group discussions were held. Trustworthiness was promoted by ensuring transferability with the triangulation of multiple focus group discussions. The social developmental approach to child protection services was used as theoretical foundation to explore the complexities social workers experience in addressing child sexual abuse allegations.
The findings indicate that existing South African policies, conventions and legislation do not always complement each other, but rather create difficulties for child protection social workers in this field which, together with insufficient service delivery, lead to the unintentional re-victimization of the child. A major reason for this is that services do not apply a multi-sectoral approach nor have the capacity to adequately respond to the protection of children.
This paper concludes with recommendations based on the social developmental principles that can support integrated and collaborative partnerships to ensure effective responses to child sexual abuse cases.