‘Entire family must undergo debriefing after a kidnapping’

AFTER the kidnap and rescue of 8-yearold Abirah Dekhta, trauma counsellors have warned that psychological first aid (PFA) and trauma/crisis debriefing must not be for the victims only but also for their family.

Trauma counsellor and Athlone Community Policing Forum project co-ordinator Haneem Smith said despite recent trends in victims returning home unharmed, kidnapping could be exceptionally challenging for children as they did not have the cognitive/psychological tools to piece together what was happening or what had happened.

Interventions such as PFA and debriefing should be done as soon as possible and should last for as long as is required, Smith said.

PFA can be done by anyone, whereas debriefing is done by a specialist/practitioner.

“What we have found is that if left untreated, unseen, or uncared for, or not adequately cared for, some survivors have developed mental disorders. And if left uncared for, emotional and physical development will definitely be hindered,” Smith said.

One of Smith’s clients struggled with heroin addiction and violence, and harboured anger, resentment and distrust towards his parents.

This was later linked to the kidnapping ordeal years before, and not having the appropriate platform to unpack the trauma.

“When he was reunited with them, it was just life back to normal. But he had to fit into everybody else’s normal,” Smith said.

There was not enough awareness and education about kidnapping and missing persons cases.

“We definitely need to start talking to community leaders so the conversation can be had, and maybe, as a province, we can come together and say this is the behaviour of kidnappings, these are the resources that we have, and this is what is going to be our plan of action moving forward,” he said.

Institute for Security Studies Crime and Justice Information Hub manager, Lizette Lancaster, said adults were still more at risk than children, but increases were found across ages and economic statuses.

National crime statistics by police for quarter one of 2022/23 (April to June 2022) shows a sharp increase in kidnappings.

For April 2020/21, 719 cases of kidnapping were recorded and 1 077 cases for 2022/23. In May 2020/21, 796 cases of kidnapping were recorded and 1 285 the next year. In June 2020/21, 717 cases were reported and 1 188 for 2022/23.

The Western Cape had a slight decrease in cases. From April-June 2020/21, the province recorded 246 kidnapping cases and 237 in the 2022/23 period.

None of the Western Cape police stations featured in the report’s Top 30 stations, with the lion’s share of cases (all but six) reported at Gauteng stations.