Child abuse in South Africa: an examination of how child abuse and neglect are defined

Child Abuse: Listening to the Voices of Primary School Children in Alice, Eastern Cape

“…Moreover, a study conducted in Cape Town by Pierce and Bozalek (2004), which focused on child abuse in South Africa and examined how child abuse and neglect are defined, identified 17 categories of child maltreatment including child prostitution, child labour and child sexual abuse, while the research participants in this study only identified three categories of child maltreatment, namely sexual, physical and emotional.…”

Does the mandate make a difference? reporting decisions in emotional abuse

“…Other data suggest that emotional abuse is often found accompanying other forms of abuse (Claussen and Crittenden, 1991;Higgins and McCabe, 2001) ( Jellen et al, 2001). This statistical discrepancy may be due to the fact that emotional abuse is often perceived as the least serious and reportable form of child abuse (Crenshaw et al, 1995;Newberger, 1983;Pierce and Bozalek, 2004). Further, it is generally accepted that only a small minority of cases of child abuse, in any form, ever come to the attention of the proper authorities (MacMillan et al, 2003).…”

Perception and determination of child maltreatment: Exploratory comparisons across three countries

“…Over the past decade, interest in cross-cultural perception of maltreatment appears to have been limited, although studies in the United States and beyond (e.g., India, Japan, South Africa, Singapore) suggest that both consensus and differences exist (Bensley et al, 2004;Kiong, Elliott, & Tan, 1996;Maiter, Alaggia, & Trocmé, 2004;Pierce & Bozalek, 2004;Portwood, 1998Portwood, , 1999Segal, 1992;Smith, 2006Smith, , 2010Sullivan, Whitehead, Leschied, Chiodo, & Hurley, 2008). Consensus is expected, even when perception is examined crossculturally, because some behaviors are universally deemed to be abusive, even though controversial "grey areas" persist (Barnett et al, 1993, p. 44).…”