GEORGE NEWS - The rate of sexual violence in South Africa is among the highest in the world. It is estimated that more than 40% of South African women will be raped in their lifetime. It is also estimated that just 14% of the perpetrators of rape are convicted in South Africa.

In 2018 the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, said in the previous three financial years, 99% of children in South Africa experienced or witnessed violence, 2 600 children were murdered and 41% of all reported rape cases involved children. The number of child rapes are also continually increasing.

It's a scary statistic and a hard reality that could mean a lifetime of nightmares for those affected.

According to Eunice Strydom of the local ACVV, the degree to which sexual abuse affects a child victim depends on several factors that include age, the nature of the child's relationship with the offender, the time period over which it occurred and the brutality of the incident.

"A brutal rape involving violence will not only leave the trauma of sexual abuse, but also the violence that the child must cope with. Children who receive support after a sexual incident will handle the trauma better and have a better chance of coping with it. A sensitive child will probably experience more intense trauma and symptoms of depression might occur. Children exposed to sexual abuse lose confidence in adults."

How will rape victims behave later?
"Human behaviour can never be predicted. There is no recipe for it. Each child responds differently. There is, however, always a risk that children will develop a distorted perception about sex," says Strydom.

Treatment includes the following:

• Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy.
• Famsa specialises in trauma relief.
• Therapy by a psychologist, especially where children show disorders such as depression or any psychiatric condition.
• Where children are still small, family therapy should be considered. Teenagers respond better to individual sessions.

"It would be good if parents went for counselling. It's a huge shock to parents when sexual abuse is revealed. With smaller children it is good if family therapy is provided," says Strydom.

Signs to look out for in a child
Strydom says that changes in behaviour, sleeping and eating patterns commonly occur in victims of sexual abuse. "They might have frequent nightmares and children who are normally spontaneous might become restrained, withdrawn and quiet. Frequent crying or signs of depression might surface and girls might put on layers of clothing," she says.

Any victim of a sexual offence should receive therapy in order to process the trauma and prevent post-traumatic stress syndrome.

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