Understanding the dynamics involved in sexual offences against children in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Abstract

Cases of sexually abused children in South Africa are shocking. This qualitative research studied perceptions of a elected sample to comprehend the child sexual offences and interventions in place to curtail this phenomenon.This study aimed to understand the communal perspectives and experiences on this subject.Convenience Sampling, a non-probability sampling method, was used to was used to select 20 participants within a Township at Mthatha [Ngangelizwe]. All the selected participants were subjected to unstructured interviews. The collected data was analysed thematically to establish that sexual offences of children affect severely the child. Ignorant of some other forms of sexual violence, the commonly known form of sexual violence was rape. Thus, the community cannot reject any untowards sexual behaviour if they are ignorant of what constitutes sexual violence. This study recommends that communities should be educated about different sexual offences. Further, recommend that the community must be informed about the progress of an open case to the police.