Adolessente loop In hoe risiko om slagoffers van seksuele misbruik te word. Seksuele misbruik het In merkwaardige impak op adolessente. Tesame met die hoe eise wat die stormagtige adolessensieperiode aan In persoon stel is vroee intervensie veral noodsaaklik. Dit word geredelik aanvaar dat vroee intervensie ernstige versteurings in volwassensheid mag verhoed. Adolessente kom egter oor die algemeen nie vanself na vore vir die nodige hulpverlening nie. Die doel van die ondersoek was om ondersoek in te stel na die noodsaaklikheid van In bewusmakingsprogram vir adolessente rakende seksuele misbruik. Die doel was verder om aanbevelings aan die hand te doen vir die ontwerp van In effektiewe bewusmakingsprogram. Die navorsing het In gekombineerde kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe benadering gevolg. 214 adolessente en 10 onderwysers van twee hoerskole is by die ondersoek betrek. Albei groepe deelnemers het vraelyste voltooi. Adolessente het kwantitatiewe vraelyste voltooi terwyl onderwysers In kwalitatiewe skedule voltooi het. Uit laasgenoemde is verskeie temas ge'identifiseer en bespreek. Die studie was verkennend sowel as beskrywend van aard. Dit is vanuit die bevindings duidelik dat daar die noodsaaklikheid bestaan van In bewusmakingsprogram aan adolessente rakende seksuele misbruik. Aanbevelings rakende die inhoud en ontwerp van so In program is vanuit die studie gedoen. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Kinderseksuele misbruik het langtermyneffekte op die persoon wat as kind seksueel misbruik is, en dit kan strek tot in sy of haar jong volwasse jare. Dit is dus belangrik dat daar aandag gegee word aan die nodige ondersteuningsnetwerke/hulpbronne wat beskikbaar is vir jong volwassenes wat slagoffers is van seksuele misbruik tydens hulle kinderjare. Deur te bepaal aan watter persone hierdie slagoffers bereid is om die misbruik te openbaar, kan gebruik gemaak word van eienskappe wat benodig word vir effektiewe openbaarmaking. Met die gemengde kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe navoringsontwerp is daar op die tweede– en derdejaar maatskaplike werkstudente van die Noordwes–Universiteit (Potchefstroomkampus) as respondente van die studie gefokus. Daar is gebruik gemaak van ‘n doelgerigte steekproef om respondente te verkry vir die studie en selfopgestelde, groep–geadministreerde vraelyste is aan hulle uitgedeel. Die verkennende navorsingsontwerp is gebruik om meer inligting oor die navorsingsonderwerp te bekom, aangesien daar beperkte inligting beskikbaar is en min navorsing daaroor onderneem is binne die Suid–Afrikaanse opset. Die doel van die studie is om vas te stel watter hulpbronne beskikbaar gestel moet word aan slagoffers van seksuele misbruik tydens hulle kinderjare, sodat hulle vroeër in hulle lewe die misbruik openbaar en die nodige hulp kan verkry vir die trauma wat hulle ervaar het. Dit is uit die bevindings duidelik dat die noodsaaklikheid bestaan vir die bewusmaking onder die gemeenskap om van die beskikbare hulpbronne vir persone wat slagoffers van kinderseksuele misbruik, gebruik te maak. Aanbevelings rakende die inhoud word in die studie uiteengesit en aanbevelings vir verdere navorsing word ook aan die hand gedoen. Die gebruik van bewusmakingsprogramme is noodsaaklik om die gemeenskap in te lig oor die dinamika van kinderseksuele misbruik. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Sexual abuse is not being reported adequately. Teachers are in an ideal position to deal with and report sexual abuse. However, research, as well as practical experience, shows that teachers are not sufficiently trained to deal with sexual abuse. Various establishments offer training initiatives to teachers, but it is unclear what the teachers’ perceptions are of the training after completion thereof. The goal of this research was to explore the perceptions of teachers after they had been exposed to an available training programme called “Understanding the Scope of Child Abuse”. The programme forms part of the training material of Forensic Assessment Consultation Training (FACT). FACT is a training company which offers support and training to professional people on the topic of sexual abuse. The researcher followed a qualitative approach. Twenty teachers from Welkom, Odendaalsrus, Virginia, Wesselsbron and Bothaville were involved in two separate training sessions. After completion of the training sessions, two focus group interviews were conducted in order to explore the participants’ perceptions regarding the training programme. The results show clearly that the perceptions of the teachers who participated in the Understanding the Scope of Child Abuse programme were significantly positive. It is also clear that there was a certain need among teachers for information such as provided by the programme. Besides the dispensation of relevant information, which was regarded as valuable and appropriate, participants valued the group consolidation and felt confident to share experiences regarding sexual abuse. Participants cherished the information not only as teachers, but also in their capacity as parents. They agreed there was a need for such training, even before participating in the study. It was recommended that colleagues, student teachers and parents should undertake the same training, conducted in a similar way. / MSW (Forensic Practice), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Sexual abuse is not being reported adequately. Teachers are in an ideal position to deal with and report sexual abuse. However, research, as well as practical experience, shows that teachers are not sufficiently trained to deal with sexual abuse. Various establishments offer training initiatives to teachers, but it is unclear what the teachers’ perceptions are of the training after completion thereof. The goal of this research was to explore the perceptions of teachers after they had been exposed to an available training programme called “Understanding the Scope of Child Abuse”. The programme forms part of the training material of Forensic Assessment Consultation Training (FACT). FACT is a training company which offers support and training to professional people on the topic of sexual abuse. The researcher followed a qualitative approach. Twenty teachers from Welkom, Odendaalsrus, Virginia, Wesselsbron and Bothaville were involved in two separate training sessions. After completion of the training sessions, two focus group interviews were conducted in order to explore the participants’ perceptions regarding the training programme. The results show clearly that the perceptions of the teachers who participated in the Understanding the Scope of Child Abuse programme were significantly positive. It is also clear that there was a certain need among teachers for information such as provided by the programme. Besides the dispensation of relevant information, which was regarded as valuable and appropriate, participants valued the group consolidation and felt confident to share experiences regarding sexual abuse. Participants cherished the information not only as teachers, but also in their capacity as parents. They agreed there was a need for such training, even before participating in the study. It was recommended that colleagues, student teachers and parents should undertake the same training, conducted in a similar way. / MSW (Forensic Practice), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

As a social worker working for the Department of Social Development, the researcher is rendering services to the Polokwane surrounding areas in Ga-maraba village in Limpopo Province. The beneficiaries of these services are mostly Pedi-speaking people under the leadership of Chief Maraba. Ga-maraba area is located approximately 40 km away from Polokwane city. When rendering services to the Pedi families, the researcher has observed that a number of child sexual abuse cases occur, which are not reported due to what Pedi culture validates as being sexual abuse. Most of the children in these cases are being sexually abused both by family members and non-family members, and such incidents are not reported. After these observations, the researcher was triggered to investigate what might be the cause, unfortunately no study has been conducted in this specific geographic area of Ga-maraba. The aim of the research was to explore the perceptions of Pedi-speaking caregivers concerning the disclosure of child sexual abuse in order to gain insight into the possible contributory factors and the knowledge of these caregivers about what constitutes child sexual abuse as well as to empower them to disclose child sexual abuse. Purposive sampling was conducted among the Pedi-speaking caregivers. This research reveals that Pedi culture regards rape as child sexual abuse and the other sexual offences according to criminal law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act 32/2007) are regarded as minor things and taboos. These findings clearly indicate that Pedi-speaking care-givers do not possess adequate knowledge of child sexual abuse. As a result, there is a need for the establishment of proper programmes that address child sexual abuse in the area of Ga-maraba and the areas around Polokwane. The findings also indicate that when such cases arise in the Pedi community, they are not disclosed to the outside world, the families affected prefer to resolve these problems among themselves, and traditional courts intervene if the families disagree. / MSW (Forensic Practice), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Sexual abuse of children is a complex problem that holds far-reaching consequences for the child and his / her family. It is a criminal act of power and control that has an impact on all people regardless of age, race, culture and economic status (Statistics, 2014). The handling of sexual abuse is a service field of social work in which social workers are designated by law to investigate cases of sexual abuse of children and the allegations thereof, according to the Children's Act No 32 of 2005 (SA, 2005). During investigations into child sexual abuse social workers experience intense, powerful feelings that have an emotional impact on the social worker and his / her role functioning (Cussons, 2011:2). It is important for social workers to possess the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to facilitate service delivery (Van Wyk, 2011:65). The objective of this research was to determine the psychosocial needs of social workers during investigations into child sexual abuse in order to establish the nature of social workers' needs, conscious experiences and observable behaviour. The researcher used the qualitative approach. The interpretive descriptive research design as a research strategy was used to determine the psychosocial needs of social workers during investigations into child sexual abuse. Eleven participants took part in the study and data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with each participant individually. The qualitative data were transcribed into themes and sub-themes to be analysed by a coding system according to the proposed framework of Tesch (in Creswell, 2009:186). Eight themes were identified: (1) role requirements, (2) role expectations, (3) emotional needs, (4) physical needs, (5) social needs, (6) cultural needs, (7) spiritual needs and (8) development and growth. These themes were divided into sub-themes and categories, and appropriate narratives as discussed in the interviews. The information was checked with literature and some conclusions and recommendations were made. Investigations into child sexual abuse are high-intensity cases which require immediate action from social workers. It was found that social workers experienced a strong demand for debriefing and support during their involvement with these investigations. It seems that social workers dealing with these cases experience unique psychosocial needs. If these needs are not addressed, it can lead to negative role functioning, occupational stress and even burnout of these social workers. The following recommendations can be made, namely that: * support working groups be presented for debriefing opportunities; * organizations establish working groups that focus on stress; * child sexual abuse be seen as a speciality field; * social workers be trained as case managers of the investigation into child sexual abuse; * professional role-players involved be trained through workshops in respect of their own and others' obligations; * resources be recruited and obtained. / MSW, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Recanting is a recognized phenomenon in child sexual abuse cases, particularly in cases of incest. When children report cases of sexual abuse, it often set motions in their environment to safeguard them from experiencing further abuse. Children may decide to take back their allegations, in most cases leading to recanting. When children recant, it may be a way to attempt to put their world back to the way it was before anyone found out about the abuse. This behaviour is often misunderstood by professionals who may conclude prematurely that the abuse never occurred in the first place. The child may want the abuse to end but never imagined the consequences of the disclosure for them and the family. The aim of this research is to find out the reasons why children recant their disclosures of sexual abuse. The study suggests that there are various reasons why children recant their disclosures of sexual abuse ranging from fear, socio economic reasons, threats and disbelief from their parents or caregivers. It also suggests that there is a need for social workers to be trained on dealing with children who have recanted their disclosures of sexual abuse and to emphasize on getting therapy for the child that has recanted the sexual abuse allegations. / MSW (Forensic Practice), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The sexual offences that are committed by adolescents lately are of a great concern, particularly in the Mafikeng area. The record shows that adolescents are arrested daily for committing criminal offences. Despite the measures that are taken by the government in developing the young people to be the generation that would be tomorrow’s future leaders, others turn to not taking the opportunity with both hands but rather engaging in criminal activities. The office record also shows that adolescents’ cases that are assessed by the Probation officers in Mafikeng are mostly of sexual offences. In every assessment the child offender is expected to be accompanied by the parent/s. In most instances the parent/s indicates to be not aware of what influences the child to act against the law by committing a sexual offence. The role of the family is to provide care, support and guidance towards the child. It becomes difficult for the Probation officers to assist the child in such case if the parent/s does not know the causal factor of his/her child’s negative act, since they are seen to be the child’s primary care giver. In South Africa sexual offence is seen to be serious offence before the court of law that falls under schedule 3 offences. The research was conducted among the adolescents who were found to have committed sexual offences in Mafikeng area. The aim of the research was to gain information on factors that contribute to adolescents to commit sexual crimes. The objective for this research was to explore the factors that contribute to adolescents committing a sexual crime and formulate recommendations for social workers and parents/guardians in preventing adolescents from committing sexual crimes in the Mafikeng area. An empirical study was conducted using a qualitative approach. A self-administered schedule was used to evaluate the factors that contribute to adolescents committing sexual crimes by means of interviews with each adolescent who has been found to have committed sexual offences. It is evident from the data collected from the research that the main factors that influence adolescents to commit sexual offences in Mafikeng are substance abuse, failure to attend school and lack of parental supervision. It takes a village to raise a child, from these findings it is clear that an integrated service approach has to be adopted in addressing the challenge, i.e. parents should start to play their role in providing care and support for their children. There has to be good relationships between the community and government departments as well as NGO’s in dealing with moral decay. / MSW (Forensic Practice), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

As a social worker working for the Department of Social Development, the researcher is rendering services to the Polokwane surrounding areas in Ga-maraba village in Limpopo Province. The beneficiaries of these services are mostly Pedi-speaking people under the leadership of Chief Maraba. Ga-maraba area is located approximately 40 km away from Polokwane city. When rendering services to the Pedi families, the researcher has observed that a number of child sexual abuse cases occur, which are not reported due to what Pedi culture validates as being sexual abuse. Most of the children in these cases are being sexually abused both by family members and non-family members, and such incidents are not reported. After these observations, the researcher was triggered to investigate what might be the cause, unfortunately no study has been conducted in this specific geographic area of Ga-maraba. The aim of the research was to explore the perceptions of Pedi-speaking caregivers concerning the disclosure of child sexual abuse in order to gain insight into the possible contributory factors and the knowledge of these caregivers about what constitutes child sexual abuse as well as to empower them to disclose child sexual abuse. Purposive sampling was conducted among the Pedi-speaking caregivers. This research reveals that Pedi culture regards rape as child sexual abuse and the other sexual offences according to criminal law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act 32/2007) are regarded as minor things and taboos. These findings clearly indicate that Pedi-speaking care-givers do not possess adequate knowledge of child sexual abuse. As a result, there is a need for the establishment of proper programmes that address child sexual abuse in the area of Ga-maraba and the areas around Polokwane. The findings also indicate that when such cases arise in the Pedi community, they are not disclosed to the outside world, the families affected prefer to resolve these problems among themselves, and traditional courts intervene if the families disagree. / MSW (Forensic Practice), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Sexual abuse of children is a complex problem that holds far-reaching consequences for the child and his / her family. It is a criminal act of power and control that has an impact on all people regardless of age, race, culture and economic status (Statistics, 2014). The handling of sexual abuse is a service field of social work in which social workers are designated by law to investigate cases of sexual abuse of children and the allegations thereof, according to the Children's Act No 32 of 2005 (SA, 2005). During investigations into child sexual abuse social workers experience intense, powerful feelings that have an emotional impact on the social worker and his / her role functioning (Cussons, 2011:2). It is important for social workers to possess the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to facilitate service delivery (Van Wyk, 2011:65). The objective of this research was to determine the psychosocial needs of social workers during investigations into child sexual abuse in order to establish the nature of social workers' needs, conscious experiences and observable behaviour. The researcher used the qualitative approach. The interpretive descriptive research design as a research strategy was used to determine the psychosocial needs of social workers during investigations into child sexual abuse. Eleven participants took part in the study and data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with each participant individually. The qualitative data were transcribed into themes and sub-themes to be analysed by a coding system according to the proposed framework of Tesch (in Creswell, 2009:186). Eight themes were identified: (1) role requirements, (2) role expectations, (3) emotional needs, (4) physical needs, (5) social needs, (6) cultural needs, (7) spiritual needs and (8) development and growth. These themes were divided into sub-themes and categories, and appropriate narratives as discussed in the interviews. The information was checked with literature and some conclusions and recommendations were made. Investigations into child sexual abuse are high-intensity cases which require immediate action from social workers. It was found that social workers experienced a strong demand for debriefing and support during their involvement with these investigations. It seems that social workers dealing with these cases experience unique psychosocial needs. If these needs are not addressed, it can lead to negative role functioning, occupational stress and even burnout of these social workers. The following recommendations can be made, namely that: * support working groups be presented for debriefing opportunities; * organizations establish working groups that focus on stress; * child sexual abuse be seen as a speciality field; * social workers be trained as case managers of the investigation into child sexual abuse; * professional role-players involved be trained through workshops in respect of their own and others' obligations; * resources be recruited and obtained. / MSW, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015