Changes in South African society and family structures are responsible for the increase in teenage violence in the country, experts believe.
Murders committed by young people at schools and in the home are on the increase in South Africa, but the numbers can be reduced if there is more parental vigilance.
– In 1999, Andreas Werth, a teacher at Townsview High School in Krugersdorp near Johannesburg, was fatally wounded when an 18-year-old Grade 12 learner shot him in front of the Grade 8 class he was teaching.
– A 15-year-old boarding school learner from White River, Mpumalanga, killed his roommate with a switchblade in July 2000.
– Two nine-year-old boys from Benoni were arguing on the school’s playground when one pulled a knife and stabbed the other to death in September 2000.
– Two teenagers, calling themselves ‘Adam” and ‘Eve” who were 17- and 16-years-old, fatally stabbed a nurse in Pretoria with a carving knife. They then dumped her body behind a sofa, had sex and ate jelly. They were recently sentenced to 20 years imprisonment each.
– Kevin Pezarro (20) received three life sentences for murdering his parents and their domestic worker in Randburg. His father, Edward Pezarro (49) was shot 50 times. His mother, Stella (44), who tried to stop him, was shot 24 times. The domestic worker, Annah Tumiso (59), was shot nine times.
– A 17-year-old Mpumalanga boy knifed his mother to death before hanging himself in October 2001.
The increasing culture of violence among teenagers can mainly be attributed to the moral decline of the family, says André Vos, a child psycologist in Potchefstroom. ‘Since 1994, role models have changed considerably. The paternal power structure has disappeared. We are finding more and more single-parent families than ever before,” Vos says.
‘Boys especially don’t have anybody to identify with as the father is away and the control structure is non-existent. There’s no-one to set an example. No wonder they are uncontrollable – who should they look up to?”
Vos believes parents have lost control over their children. And because they are not controlled anymore, children, and especially teenagers, are increasingly using drugs, alcohol and violence to escape their less than perfect world.
Pretoria criminologist Irma Labuschagne also believe child killers are a symptom of the changes in society: ‘The entire decline in moral values can be attributed to the drastic changes our country is undergoing politically as well as socially.”
‘We’re still struggling to adapt to the new democratic order. However, we are not an exception to the rest of the world. Violence among children is increasing world-wide.”
Lanette Hattingh, a psychologist in Johannesburg is of the opinion that
children don’t scare easily anymore. ‘Violence doesn’t seem to scare them,” she says. ‘It has just become part of their lives. They see how easy it is to shoot someone. Their role models do it, why shouldn’t they?”
Television is also blamed for contributing to the climate of violence. ‘Most television programmes watched by children include a lot of violence. The children see this and it makes them think that they can protect themselves with violence. Moreover, violence gets a lot of publicity in the media,” says Hattingh.
‘No young child will think of protecting himself with dangerous weapons. Children will much rather settle an argument with a good old-fashioned fist fight. But when they see their role models shooting each other, they want to do it too because they think it’s cool.”
According to Magriet Visser, co-ordinator of Teen Line, a crisis help line that provides a listening and counselling service to teenagers, today’s teenagers struggle with enormous problems, and their parents aren’t even aware of this. Most of the problems are related to relationships, pregnancies and drugs.
‘There has been a remarkable increase in teenagers presenting for psychological help over the past six years,” says Melodie de Jager, an educational psychologist in Johannesburg.
‘Certain factors have to be taken into account when you analyse teenage behaviour. For instance, traditional middleclass families have disappeared in a big way. Parents just don’t seem to have time to spend with their children anymore. They are so involved in their own lives that the children are usually left to fend for themselves,” De Jager says.
Karel Smith, a pastoral psychologist based in Polokwane in Limpopo says puberty is a very difficult stage for teenagers. ‘Suddenly they’re undergoing all kinds of different physical and spiritual changes which by itself can cause new stress.
‘Teenagers need a lot of support during this time, not only from their parents but also from their churches. If they do not get the necessary support they might go and look for salvation in drugs, alcohol or sex. It’s also a fact that a teen who doesn’t find the necessary support at home might even contemplate murder or suicide,” Smith says.
Parents often don’t realise that their children have very serious problems because of their lack of involvement. ‘Big mistake,” says Smith. ‘Parents should be intricately involved with their children’s lives. Then they’ll know immediately if and when they should seek professional help. Good channels of communication between parents and children are essential.”