Child-on-child sexual abuse is under the spotlight, with experts warning that increasing numbers of children are becoming involved in serious sexual offences after being exposed to violence, abuse and trauma.
The issue has been thrust into the spotlight in the Western Cape following the arrest of a 14-year-old boy accused of murdering six-year-old Desney Struis, who is believed to have been sexually assaulted after she went missing from Visgat farm near Witzenberg, Ceres.
The Ceres case comes as the country is also grappling with another incident involving a 14-year-old boy in Limpopo, who is accused of raping and impregnating his 13-year-old relative and was due to appear before the Children’s Court.
Police confirmed the 14-year-old Western Cape suspect appeared in court on July 16 after being arrested in connection with Desney’s murder. The investigation has since been transferred to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS).
Play Video
In the Western Cape, the minor, who cannot be identified, was arrested last week and appeared in court on July 16. Police confirmed the teenager was charged with the murder of six-year-old Desney Struis, who went missing earlier this month.
It is alleged that Desney was last seen playing in the sand with the suspect before her mother returned home from work and realised she was missing. A community search later led to the discovery of her body near a river. She is believed to have been sexually assaulted and possibly strangled.
On Tuesday, police confirmed the docket had been transferred to the Ceres Family Violence and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit for further investigation, but said they could not provide additional details due to the sensitive nature of the case.
Police spokesperson Thembakazi Mphendukana said: “Prince Alfred Hamlet SAPS opened a murder case following an incident at a farm on Tuesday, July 7, in which a six-year-old girl was murdered.
“A 14-year-old male suspect was apprehended and has appeared in court. The matter was postponed for Thursday, July 16, and the case docket was then forwarded to Ceres FCS for further investigation.”
“Due to the sensitive nature of this incident, this office cannot reveal any further details regarding it.” Desney was a learner at Die Eike VGK Premier Skool, and it was believed that she and her attacker had been playmates.
A week ago, Dr Shaheda Omar, Director of the Teddy Bear Foundation, said there has been an increase in child-on-child sexual abuse cases since 2019, stating that often the perpetrator was exposed to a form of abuse.
“Accountability, protection, and rehabilitation, we have to look at child-on-child sexual abuse; this is not a phenomenon, we have been working on and dealing with such cases at the Teddy Bear Foundation since 2019, and there has been an increase in such cases and phenomena, and one has to establish the difference between the country and risk factors.”
During a study done by Omar, she focused on boys aged 12 years and younger who sexually abused other children. The study highlighted the importance of understanding the causes of this behaviour to improve assessment, intervention, and prevention, with characteristics emphasising that most offenders (96%) were 9–12 years old.
Children’s rights activist and crime activist, Zona Morton, concurred with Omar’s study and recent interview and said that children exposed to trauma and abuse often find themselves on the wrong side of the law. “In the Western Cape, violence affects children daily.
“Children are often caught in domestic violence disputes between parents,” she said.
“As an activist for children’s rights, I call on the Children’s Commission to act with urgency relating to early interventions. It is not normal for toddlers and teenagers to be exposed to violent killings on the Cape Flats 24 hours a day. Society most definitely plays an important role in being educated about how detrimental it is to a 3 or 10-year-old’s mental state to be taken to bloody scenes of gang killings. We urge the four pillars of the State to start acting without delay.”
Siya Monakali, of the GBV organisation Ilitha Labantu, said that when a child is accused of committing a serious violent offence, society should be compelled to ask difficult but necessary questions about whether our prevention and protection systems are adequately identifying and supporting children at risk.
