SA kids 'living in fear'
2008-02-18 12:36
Pretoria - South Africa is already paying the price of children who live in fear because of crime, or who have already experienced the trauma of crime.
"Our country will still be paying that price for a long time to come. We're not fooling our children. They know what the score is," children's educational psychologist Professor Kobus Maree said on Wednesday.
In one of the latest crime incidents a Grade 7 pupil at Trinity House Preparatory School in Randpark Ridge, 12-year-old Emily Williams died when she was hit by a stray bullet during a gunfight between house robbers and security guards.
A clinical psychologist at the Children's Trauma Clinic in Pretoria, Marita Rademeyer, said research had shown that between 20% and 40% of South African children were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Far-reaching consequences
"Trauma changes a child's brain functions and it has far-reaching consequences."
It can, for example, lead to children struggling to concentrate at school, sleeping badly or being aggressive and fearful.
Maree said most South African children were genuinely traumatised. "They're exposed to events that are way beyond their control. That's the worst. It doesn't surprise me that children develop physical or mental illnesses."
In his view school subjects such as life skills could be a lot more useful in helping children to cope with trauma.
He said schools could use a lot more of this time to discuss trauma.
"If you can verbalise something, it already brings relief. There is no substitute for therapy."
"Don't lie to children. Be brutally honest with them. Tell them about everything that you do to keep them safe, such as closing doors, but that you can't always do it."
"Take precautionary steps and act intelligently. Do whatever is in your power to keep crime away from your doors," Maree advised parents.
He said children were "undeniably fearful", and their childhood years, that were supposed to be carefree, were everything but that.
"It comes to the fore in later years."
Rademeyer said every area of a child's development was influenced by trauma.
"Our land is in deep trouble. As parents we become emotionally blunted, but any trauma is hell on the children. We must encourage them - but not press them - to act out and talk about these events," she said.
The latest available police statistics on child victims of crime, for the period 2005 to 2006, showed that 1 075 children were murder victims.
Of the attempted murders reported, 1 378 were children.
In this period nearly 24 000 children were raped.
According to the SA Police Service annual report for that year an unknown number of these crimes were committed during other crime events, such as house robberies, gang fights, taxi violence and the like, and the victims were not necessarily the targets.