Due to the legal obligation to report actual or suspected cases of child sexual abuse
and neglect, parents, concerned community members and friends, as well as various
professionals like teachers, doctors and psychologists, refer children on a daily basis
to social workers in order to initiate an investigation of the allegations. The intake
interview is therefore a critical step in the process of child protection and care. In the
context of this study, intake interview refers to the initial contact between the social
worker and the child in the case of child sexual abuse, where a social worker seeks
to establish all objective facts relating to the case so as to make informed decisions
and to act accordingly.
The Mafikeng Service Point of the Department of Health and Social Development
has no standard procedures for social workers in cases of child sexual abuse. It is
against this background that a North West based study on the child sexual abuse
intake procedures was conducted at Mafikeng Service Point. The study was
descriptive and quantitative in nature, with the aim of making a theoretical as well as
an empirical study of the intake procedures at the time of the investigation. Data
was collected by means of a self–administered questionnaire on the current intake
procedures of 30 social workers. Data was triangulated by analysing 15 case files of
reported child sexual abuse.
It was found that the majority of social workers of the Mafikeng Service Point lack
sufficient knowledge and skills regarding interviewing child sexual abuse cases and
the legal requirements involved. As a result, they follow diverse and largely
inefficient intake interview procedures. The 15 case files that were analysed
revealed that social workers do not perform follow–up sessions after the intake and
that case files are therefore not officially closed. Recommendations are made to the
Mafikeng Service Point with regard to the intake procedures of child sexual abuse
cases. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/7289 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Motshedi, Tshepiso Sinah |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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