Child abuse workshops empower, enlighten teachers
To help educators better understand child abuse, a workshop at Parkdene Primary was held recently.
The workshop was presented by Kidz Clinic together with Women and Men Against Child Abuse.
The need to provide training came to light after social workers at Kidz Clinic realised teachers don’t have the necessary skills to deal with abused children.
This sparked the workshops which will be held throughout Ekurhuleni primary schools from April until July.
Speaking to educators at Parkdene, social worker Zandile Vilakazi discussed the emotional aspects connected to child abuse and the avenues available for children to disclose abuse and where they can go for counselling.
“Remember, when the child tells you about abuse it can be direct, indirect or involve a third-party disclosure. One needs to be very attentive when there is any talk of abuse, because it could be real.
“Most likely a disclosure will be indirect where the child maybe mentions someone else who is abused yet they are themselves looking for help.
“Sometimes the child will just disclose the abuse directly, which is not so often, while you will also find the abused child disclosed the incident to a friend who will then hopefully report it.”
Vilakazi said following abuse being disclosed, it is important for the teacher to provide a safe environment in which the abused child or a third party can disclose the information.
“At the same time, stay calm, avoid denial, listen and don’t make assumptions, be reassuring, be supportive, avoid being judgemental, get the essential facts, make notes, tell the person what will happen next and report the disclosure,” said Vilakazi.
Vilakazi said children who have been sexually, psychologically or physically abused often experience emotional trauma that can have a lifelong impact.
“Emotionally scarred children should be provided with professional assistance (counselling) to help them deal effectively with such experiences.”
Another social worker, Lebohang Nyathela, said it is very important that when a child discloses to an adult about being abused, that action is immediately taken.
“Report immediately what the child has reported. If you do not report the abuse it is the same as assisting the alleged perpetrator in abusing the child,” Nyathela said.
Nyathela said one can be criminally charged in a court of law for not reporting the crime.
“Under no circumstances can a person who is not a medical practitioner check a child or make them undress to see if a child has been sexually abused.
“It should be noted that the person who medically examines a child will be subpoenaed to testify in court and give an account of their findings. It is important to know that if a person acted outside their scope of practice, such as examining the child, that they can also be charged legally,” Nyathela said.
* Kidz Clinic provides free psychological/social services for children at risk.
They provide services such as psychological assessment of a child victim, medical examination and treatment, compiling an assessment report to be used in court, counselling and psychological therapy, and preparation for court testimony (in collaboration with other service providers).
