Experts warn of lasting trauma in child abuse cases
*********Please be advised that the following story contains disturbing details of abuse that may be upsetting or triggering, and isn't suitable for children ************
Lifeline Pietermaritzburg says a sexual abuse case involving an eight-year-old boy highlights the painful reality that abuse often happens at the hands of people children are expected to trust.
The non-profit counselling group has been reacting to the life sentence handed down to the child’s 28-year-old sister.
The woman lined up in the Madadeni Regional Court last week, after pleading guilty to charges of sexual assault.
She was slapped with an additional five years’ imprisonment for exposing a child to pornographic material in Osizweni.
Child manipulation
Lifeline PMB’s Sinikiwe Biyela says all children are protected by the state.
“Children are easy targets, especially in this case, it's a sister. So, you could see that the sister had power over the boy and the sister had access to him. Maybe when parents are gone, the sister was always there to actually initiate the sexual act on this boy.
“The second reason is because of power and control. They know they can control the child, and it's very easy to manipulate and control children. Whether you manipulate them with money or with gifts, you say things that will make them scared. So, because of fear, sometimes they do give in.”
According to the National Prosecuting Authority, the abuse only came to light in 2024 after the child attended a school awareness session encouraging learners to report inappropriate touching.
He then disclosed the abuse to his mother (which had been happening between 2022 and 2024).
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Long-term psychological impact
She says what stands out most is the long-term psychological impact on young survivors, especially if there is no counselling or intervention.
“It becomes very difficult for the rape survivor to ever trust anybody else, including their family members. Also, they do struggle with sometimes differentiating between right and wrong. Sometimes we've seen other children continue practicing that, um, behaviour because it's a land behaviour. Now they've been introduced to it and at times they might end up repeating it or perpetrating other children as well.”
Biyela says that early education and awareness remain crucial in helping children recognise abuse and speak out before long-term trauma sets in.
“Sometimes, which is not an excuse, but a need to also put it out there. Sometimes you find that these people that are abusing children, they were abused themselves when they were young. They are repeating something that had happened to them when they were young, which is not an excuse, because if something similar had happened to them, they should have gone for help.
“They should have gone for counselling instead of repeating the same behaviour. But I'm just saying that in our line of work, we've seen people that have been abused as children themselves, and sometimes they grow up and they become abusers for many reasons. Sometimes it's to just pay back because as a child I was in pain, I never enjoyed my life, and I grew up crying so then I'll make sure that other people also cry and they never enjoy life.”
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