Prof NT Phasha just before delivering her inaugural lecture
Driven by her passion to improve the situation of sexually abused children in our schools, Prof NT Phasha has spent ten years of her career researching the effects brought about on the lives of children who are the victims of sexual abuse. She says such victimisation is now endemic in South Africa and that apart from the physical pain and psychological trauma that the learners go through; sexual victimisation denies these children the right to equal opportunities and treatment. This persistent problem deprives children of their innocence and compromises their success in education. A teacher herself, Prof Phasha says she believes teachers can play a major role in helping children in such circumstances as they can help to prevent the problem, can help learners overcome their experiences, and they can lead them towards success in their schooling.
To analyse and investigate the different aspects that contribute to this endemic in South African schools she has collected data in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu Natal. Her research was thorough as she did research at schools, social welfare institutions, law enforcement agencies, psychological service units and healthcare institutions. She collected data from learners of different genders in the age range of 13 and 23 years, with various experiences of sexual victimization perpetrated by close relatives, strangers, neighbours, teachers and peers. They belonged to three different races, namely: White, Coloured and Blacks. She included non-disabled learners and learners with various forms of disabilities (mild intellectual, visual, hearing and physical impairments). She also included teachers at regular and special schools, caregivers, social workers, psychologists, and police officers. Furthermore she says the results of research into prevention and treatment doesn’t optimize the teacher’s role but rather emphasizes the roles of police officers, psychologists, social welfare and medical professionals and places the experiences and activities of females at the centre of the analysis.
Dr M Qhobela (Vice-Principal: Institutional Development), Prof NT Phasha (Chair of Department: Department of Inclusive Education, College of Education (CEDU)) Prof VI McKay (Deputy Executive Dean: CEDU) and Prof KP Dzvimbo (Executive Dean: CEDU)
The effect of being sexually abused on the victim is a lack of concentration in class because their minds are often preoccupied with their thoughts about the experience rather than focussing on their school tasks. The side effects are anger, anxiety, shame and sexual fantasies. Learners react with anger if they are victimized by trusted adults and when their reports on the matter are not believed nor supported. They feel nobody cares about them which disturbs their concentration and manifests in absenteeism and dropping out of school. If the victimisation is accompanied by name calling and other forms of abuse, they can be suicidal and exhibit high levels of aggression towards their peers which manifests in provoking fights, bullying and other forms of harassment. Their behaviour is often learnt from the perpetrator as they learn that aggression is the only way to get what they want. The violence and aggression disrupts the learning process and this leads to lower grades.
Learners who react with anxiety are the ones who are unable to fight back to stop their victimisation which makes these learners feel hopeless and helpless and it places them in a state of insecurity. They find it hard to pay attention in school as they are distracted by their fears of further abuse and often they withdraw and shy away from contact with others.
Shame comes into the picture when the learners are old enough to understand the taboos surrounding sex. It goes hand in hand with self-blame and the perception of themselves as being dirty and impure. Prof Phasha says they often spend hours worrying about what other people will say and think about them, leading to loss of concentration in class. When they compare themselves to others, they view themselves as valueless. These learners hold a negative view of their future and loose enthusiasm for completing school work. They often befriend people who are alienated from school and use alcohol and drugs to erase negative perceptions about themselves. Interestingly these individuals often have aspirations to careers which involve nurturing.
Despite what happens to them, some learners demonstrate resilience and are able to survive, even thrive despite their situation. These learners do not blame themselves for their victimisation; they have a religious interpretation of abuse and a strong belief in ubuntu which promotes forgiveness towards the perpetrator. They have an ability to seek and embrace support from others and have a strong belief that education is the only means which can improve their situation.
Problems which arise out of school processes and practises are the results of a lack of clear rules and policies, the non-prioritization of sexual education and poor monitoring of school premises. Special schools fear a tarnished reputation which could threaten their funding so they would rather cover up instances of abuse. Teachers also often have a misconception that children with disabilities are hypersexual and therefore invite the abuse. This is an ignorant belief as disabled people go through puberty at roughly the same chronological age as their typically developing peers and they experience the same body changes. They are however less able to express themselves in more conventional ways.
“When taking all of the above into consideration, teachers can no longer be passive spectators who watch the lives of children being stolen away by the experience of sexual victimisation. Teachers should be proactive and help victimised learners to overcome the negative impact of the problem” says Prof Phasha. “Teachers can act as significant others and can provide a child with positive self esteem; they can provide safe learning environments, adapt classroom activities and use teaching approaches to enable learners to experience success. They can offer continuous support and provide a consistent relationship for the learner.” Phasha’s research has provided enough evidence to suggest that sexual victimisation interferes with school functioning and therefore schools can no longer ignore this reason as to why some learners cannot learn. Teachers must give an account she says. “The time spent at school offers teachers an opportunity, not afforded to other professionals, to easily identify behaviour that could arouse suspicion that the child might be victimised”. Teachers remain role models for children and some children share their personal information with their teachers. As they are trusted and are the closest adults outside the children’s families, it is more likely that learners will disclose their sexual victimisation experiences to their teachers. Schools may also be the only setting in which a child receives appropriate help to enable them to cope with the experience of sexual abuse or violence.
Currently Prof Phasha is extending her research into other parts of Africa such as Kenya. She is the recipient of a Forum for African Woman Educationist (FAWE) research grant and feels it is important to identify similarities and differences between nations and as it provides explanations for the wide range of factors which come into play. She believes that nations face similar challenges and should share their solutions. Finally Prof Phasha said: “No matter how bleak the outlook, any small victories motivate me to press on in my research and publication. I really do believe in what I am doing and will continue to do it to the best of my abilities. The accolades help, but I would do it anyway”.
