Carien du Plessis
THE South African Police Service conceded this week that its child protection units (CPUs) only scratch the surface of the problem of child abuse in the country.
Police were confronted with nearly 36 000 cases of child abuse last year, more than double the number in1993, and it is widely acknowledged that the number of reported cases represents only a fraction of the actual abuse. Reported incidence of rape also has risen nearly 40% from 1995 to 13 859 cases.
There are a total of 35 child protection units in the country, with 58 child abuse specialists. The management and methods of the units vary from province to province, but nearly all have been hampered by a lack of funding and staff shortages.
The Johannesburg unit, for example, has a staff of 16 to deal with a caseload of nearly 300 a month. In Cape Town, CPU specialists are known to work as many as 85 cases at a time.
While the total police budget for the 1997/98 financial year is R12,5-billion – 14,3% more than last year – child abuse specialists worry that little of that will go to them. The Johannesburg child protection unit has heard that of the R2- million it requested from the provincial government, it may only get 7%.
Many of the problems child abuse specialists face are a result of the sensitive nature of their work.
Johannesburg commander Edward Hutcheons said victims his unit encounters are often threatened or coerced into prostitution or abuse, or they depend on prostitution for their survival. Children under such pressures often refuse to make statements, which makes it difficult to impossible for police to charge the abusers.
CPU national commissioner, Superintendant Anneke Pienaar, says: “There are not sufficient places of safety, and the children cannot be kept in police cells as the police would be criticised for that.”