The other face of child abuse
2004-02-26 19:14
Johannesburg - More cases on non-abuse are being reported to the Teddy Bear Clinic for abused children in Johannesburg, said clinic manager Luke Lamprecht at the first congress on the advancement of sexual health and rights.
Lamprecht said on Thursday "everything" was nowadays regarded as being abuse, so natural sexual experimentation was often mistaken for signs that a child had been abused.
He said false allegations of child abuse were also a problem. In many custody and access cases, child abuse was used as a tool against one of the parents.
But, said Lamprecht, real abuse was on the increase and the forms of abuse were getting worse, while the offenders were younger.
"We see rapists as young as 10, and we call them rapists because they act like rapists," he told about 300 delegates at the conference in Johannesburg.
"We are raising these kids, we have to take responsibility for them."
HIV/Aids has become 'tool of power'
He said that because of HIV/Aids, sex had taken on a whole new meaning.
It was no longer a joyful experience, but could lead to a slow and painful death. It had, therefore, become a tool of power.
There was a perception that South Africa was the only country in the world where children were abused. Not so, said Lamprecht.
He said the country had brilliant policies and legislation protecting women and children, but lacked resources and money.
Child abuse was also a generalised problem and not restricted to certain population groups.
There were many people wanting to do something about child abuse, but co-ordinating them to work in unison was a problem.
Customs
Earlier on Thursday, at the opening of the congress, the president of the World Association of Sexology, Marc Ganem, said Africa faced two problems in dealing with sexual health and sexual rights - lack of money and cultural customs.
"In Africa, everything is done for men," he said. "Africa is mistreating its women."
Women and girls aged between 15 and 25 accounted for most of the new HIV/Aids infections in sub-Saharan Africa because women did not have the right to say no to unprotected sex.
Ganem said he had heard of cultural customs in Africa where young virgins were given to men suffering from HIV/Aids to "rejuvenate them".
'Funds ending up off-shore'
"This is murder. It is encouraging paedophilia. It must stop. Africa must start to speak out. Africa is dying because of its very silence."
Ganem said millions of dollars were donated to Africa every year to combat HIV and diseases, but most of the money did not reach the people who needed help.
"I want to know where my tax money is going when it is given to Africa. About 47% of the money ends up in offshore bank accounts."
Ganem said he dreamed of an Africa where donor funds would not go to the people in power, but would be used for programmes to help the people who needed it most.
- SAPA