A situation analysis of children affected by maltreatment and violence in the Western Cape

Abstract

This report commences with a brief conceptual framework that outlines a systemic approach to the understanding of risks to wellbeing posed to children by poverty and exposure to violence and maltreatment. The findings follow thereafter, presenting data on child maltreatment first, followed by domestic violence, violence in schools and finally in the wider community. The report concludes with an integration of the findings and reflections on data quality. A summary of all the research studies we were able to access on physical abuse and neglect, sexual abuse, domestic violence and physical punishment, children on the streets, child prostitution, trafficking, and exposure to violence in schools is presented in Appendix 1. A map depicting key data on the situation of children and relevant services is provided in the report. After careful consideration, municipal boundaries were chosen as the spatial unit, as these boundaries were found to be the most convenient for expressing the available data. In addition, we felt that municipal boundaries would make sense to a range of policy makers and other stakeholders who would be able to recognise them by name.