Towards the development of an integrated model to mitigate the non-disclosure of child sexual abuse amongst Vhaveṋda : an afrocentric perspective

Abstract

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a social, health and behavioural problem that undermines the human rights of children. Although it is a problem that is largely researched globally, it continues to subsist even to this date. It is challenging to develop mechanisms and approaches to abate CSA because it often happens in private and is not always disclosed. Unfortunately, this non-disclosure undermines and delays the determination to provide the necessary support services to child victims of sexual abuse and protect other children from being potential victims of such atrocious abuse. To understand the dynamics around disclosure, one has to situate CSA in social and cultural contexts. In other words, how CSA is interpreted varies from one context to the next, and such variations have implications on the decision to disclose or not disclose CSA. That is why any effort to develop methods and models to mitigate the non-disclose of CSA must be context-specific and relevant. To put it differently, using one-size-fits-all methods or models cannot always be appropriate and effective in mitigating the non-disclosure of CSA. In light of the above, this study sought to contextually explore and describe the dynamics of disclosing CSA amongst Vhaveṋda, with the intent to develop an integrated model to mitigate non-disclosure of CSA. In this study, both the Ecological Systems Theory and Afrocentric Theory were employed to provide the theoretical framework in the context of Vhaveṋda. This study adopted both the descriptive and intervention research designs within the ambit of a qualitative approach. A simple random sampling technique was used to purposively select five adult survivors of CSA, seven Vhaveṋda caregivers of CSA survivors, two traditional leaders, four social workers and two educators in the Vhembe District Municipality of the Limpopo Province. The researcher used semi-structured one-on-one interviews as a data collection method. Thematic content analysis, with the assistance of the NVivo software, was used to help the researcher interpret and organise data into meaningful themes. The findings of this study show that socio-cultural practices and values amongst Vhaveṋda cause challenges in the disclosure of CSA, which include a lack of a broader understanding of CSA, a lack of parent-child discussion on sexual-related matters, unsupportive responses from parents, victims’ desire to protect others and traditional leaders’ inability to handle the disclosure in confidence. Despite these challenges, the findings of this study revealed that Khoro, mahundwane, initiation schools, Munna Ndi Nnyi Forum, and collaborations between traditional councils and other stakeholders are the current measures or systems in place amongst Vhaveṋda to mitigate CSA despite their ineffectiveness. The quest to protect children from sexual abuse requires a collection and collaboration of different systems and stakeholders. The findings of this study also revealed the psycho-social effects of not disclosing CSA on the child victims, namely social withdrawal, difficulty in trusting the opposite gender, poor school performance, bitter relationships between a victim and parent and living with continued confusion. Undisclosed sexual abuse experiences affect the overall development of child victims and the impacts thereof exist for a long-term. As a result of concerning limited knowledge amongst Vhaveṋda regarding what constitutes CSA and also the effects and/or dynamics of not disclosing sexual abuse due to socio-cultural practices and values, the researcher developed an educational model for Vhaveṋda titled “an integrated child sexual abuse educational model for Vhaveṋda”. This model was developed on the premise that non-disclosure of CSA can be mitigated if Vhaveṋda people are provided with educational guidance on sexual offending behaviours, sex and sexuality, culture and law, an open child-parent communication sex matters, a comprehensive approach to address CSA and the psycho-social effects of not disclosing CSA on child victims. This model contributes to the endeavour and determination to mitigate the non-disclosure of CSA in the context of Vhaveṋda.