The experiences of designated social workers working with cases of alleged child sexual abuse in the South African context

Abstract

Child sexual abuse is a brutal crime against children. Designated social workers working in child protection organisations have a significant role to fulfil in the prevention, investigation and intervention with alleged child sexual abuse cases in order to protect children from harm. These interventions with alleged CSA cases create distinctive challenges and strong emotional reactions for designated social workers. There are inadequate literature available on what the experiences of designated social workers entail when working with alleged child sexual abuse cases within the South African context. The goal of this research study was to explore and describe the experiences of designated social workers working with cases of alleged child sexual abuse cases in the South African context. As this research study aimed to explore the experiences of designated social workers, applied research was executed. The Person-centred approach was the theoretical framework used for the study and it followed a qualitative research approach. The researcher used non-probability sampling methods to identify possible participants through purposive and snowball sampling. Data collection took place with the researcher interviewing eleven eligible participants in the Mpumalanga province by following an instrumental case study design. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview schedule which enabled the researcher to acquire rich and detailed descriptions from participants. The researcher followed a carefully structured data analysis process as she thematically analysed the data to ensure that the findings of the study is trustworthy. The study’s findings were organised into five main themes which focused on the training and experience of designated social workers, their roles and responsibilities with alleged child sexual abuse cases, the challenges and supportive factors that designated social workers experience, and lastly participants made recommendations on matters that they believe will improve their experiences when working with these cases. Designated social workers have a wide array of experiences when working with cases of alleged CSA abuse. The researcher concluded her research report by making appropriate recommendations for practice and future research based on the findings of the conducted study. Recommendations and conclusions include that tertiary institutions should work towards inclusion of statutory social work into their theory and practice curriculum, with a specific focus on basic knowledge and skills relevant to forensic work with alleged CSA cases. Social workers need to be made aware of the misconception that a positive medical report is the most important evidence to prove sexual abuse. Social workers need to advocate against the misconception of a medical report as final proof for sexual abuse within the criminal justice system to ensure that this malpractice is curbed and ended. It is recommended to develop a standardised procedure for role players when working with alleged CSA cases. This should be a specialised and multi-disciplinary approach where role players should be timeously trained in their roles and responsibilities within this procedure. Supervisors should be adequately trained on how to fulfil their supervisory function within an organisation. This includes knowing how to provide supervision in the correct manner in order to curb high staff turnover, stress and burnout and to promote positive momentum in cases and enhance social workers’ work ethic. The researcher recommended that the implementation of child-centred practice in child protection social work should be explored as it is important for designated social workers to be knowledgeable on creative and play techniques. This can add value in their intervention with children. By undertaking this study, the knowledge gap could be addressed as it led to a better understanding on what competence, conditions, support and resources are required by designated social workers in order to facilitate the recovery of child victims who experienced sexual trauma.