Child sexual abuse : a construct reconsidered.
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Date
2011
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Abstract
It has become increasingly apparent to those in the field of child protection that there has
been considerable progress in the campaign to protect children from sexual abuse. The last
three decades of the twentieth century saw a burgeoning of research into the phenomenon of
child sexual abuse (CSA). There have been considerable advances in research at all levels ―
epidemiology, aetiology, definition and recognition, pathogenesis, prognosis, treatment and
prevention of CSA (Leventhal, 2003). Empirical research on CSA has gained currency over
the years. Empirical research assumes that everyone knows and agrees on what CSA is. This
‘knowing’ of CSA has become so deeply embedded in language, culture, laws, policies,
practices and institutions that some of these ideas have become accepted truths.
Despite this sense of ‘knowing’ that many have in relation to CSA, the majority of children in
the world still remain at risk and sexually abused children are fundamentally no better off
today than they were 100 years ago. This study, therefore, raised questions concerning the
knowledge most people have in relation to CSA, especially those with professional
knowledge in particular fields related to it. The study examined professional knowledge
about CSA as articulated through trained practitioners in particular fields related to it. It also
raised questions concerning the epistemological origins of and the frames of reference
underpinning their knowledge of CSA, the assumptions and judgements upon which their
knowledge is based, and whether this knowledge best serves the interests of children in the
twenty-first century.
The underlying premise of the study is that the act of constructing CSA and creating
knowledge about it is social and political. Representing a social problem in a particular way
requires power. Professionals in a revered field of knowledge, such as education, health or
the law, command power and are significant voices that contribute to our understanding of
CSA. Fundamentally, this study focused on the discourses that six trained practitioners (three
school counsellors, a chief medical officer, a social worker and a police official from the
Child Protection Unit) in particular fields related to CSA in the Central Durban area utilised
in their constructions of CSA, and what functions these discourses serve. In South Africa they
form an integral part of the country’s inter-departmental initiatives (health, education, justice
and the police service) in its integrated and multidisciplinary approach to preventing abuse.
These practitioners are professionals in revered fields of knowledge, such as education, health
and law, and are significant voices that contribute to our understanding of CSA. Knowledge
of how they construct CSA is vital because their constructions circulate within the broader
community, are supported by various institutions and become the official or normative
understanding of CSA.
Through the use of in-depth, open-ended questionnaires with these six purposively selected
trained practitioners and the analysis of two CSA case documents from a hospital in the
Central Durban area, the study addressed two pertinent questions: what discourses do trained
practitioners in the field of CSA utilise in their constructions of CSA, and what functions do
these discourses serve?
The results suggest a complex interplay of dominant discourses that are based on bio-psychosocial
and medico-legal constructs. The results also suggest that while the field of CSA is
dominated by these deeply embedded discourses that often act as barriers to other ways of
understanding CSA, trained practitioners also utilised unscientific and irrational orientations
in understanding this complex phenomenon. Considering the findings, it is imperative that
these epistemic gazes established by these dominant positions be challenged, grounded
alternatives be provided that are consistent with the realities of CSA, and concerted efforts be
made toward a paradigm shift in the way CSA is conceptualised, if we are to serve the best
interests of children. Children surely deserve no less.
Description
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2011.
Keywords
Child sexual abuse--KwaZulu-Natal--Durban., Educational psychology--KwaZulu-Natal--Durban., Theses--Education.