Protecting our children from being molested
According to a study done by the trade union Solidarity in 2011, a child is raped every three minutes in South Africa.
Over 40 parents and guardians gathered at the Northfield Methodist Church to hear a talk on Protective Behaviour Education by Hayley Walker, recently.
The Protective Behaviour Education programme is Australian. It teaches parents to identify if their child is being sexually molested, and teaches children how to not become victims.
“Paedophiles stop molesting children when they turn 12 years old,” Walker said, stressing that, in the same way children are taught fire safety, road and personal safety, they should be taught what to do when they feel unsafe.
The programme helps children to identify their early warning signs when they feel unsafe, such as wobbly knees, sweaty palms and butterflies in their stomach.
It also encourages the child to choose five adults (network) who he/she can call when they start feeling early warning signs.
The network’s main role is to protect the child.
“Parents are not allowed to choose who should be on the network, because they might choose someone with whom the child is not comfortable,” said Walker.
She also encouraged parents to teach their children the correct body part names, because in court a lot of sexual assault cases are thrown out if the child does not use the correct terms.
“Children don’t make up this sort of things; they are usually too young to know what sexual abuse is, so, when they tell you, take them seriously,
“When a child confides in you and tells you they have been molested, the first thing you must do is take him/her to a social worker,” she said.
Walker and her team visit primary schools and pre-schools to teach youngsters in a child-friendly manner how not to become victims.
For more information, contact Walker on 081 415 2220.
