Offenders see children as sexual objects

“A CHILD is seen as a sexual object and an appropriate replacement for an unwilling adult woman.”

That is one of the explanations given by the perpetrators of child sexual abuse (CSA) included in a study by Kgauhelo Lekalakala from the department of social work at the University of Johannesburg.

For the study – titled Patriarchal Notions of Manhood as an Explanation for Sexual Abuse of Young Children in South Africa – Lekalakala conducted interviews with 27 incarcerated sex offenders who abused children aged seven years and younger.

Lekalakala‚ who made a presentation at the International Conference Preventing Violence in Cape Town on Wednesday‚ said she conducted interviews at eight correctional centres in Limpopo‚ Gauteng and the North West. “The sex offenders ranged from 16 to 86 years and their victims’ ages ranged from 18 months to about seven years.”

She said her research was motivated by SA’s reputation of “allegedly being the rape capital of the world”.

“The sexual abuse of Baby Tshepang occurred when SA had high rates of HIV/Aids. This led to suggestions that child abusers are motivated to rape by a belief in the ‘virgin cleansing myth’.”

But the explanations given to Lekalakala by perpetrators about their motives for carrying out abuse dismissed this myth.

Instead‚ the narratives illustrated pro-abusive attitudes towards women and young children.

“This shows how sociocultural factors‚ including patriarchal manhood and a belief in sexual entitlement‚ are used to justify CSA.”

Recommendations offered by Lekalakla to combat sexual abuse included dialogue on gender equality and child-rearing practices which examines how boys and girls socialise.