'I didn't see a child, I saw an object': SA paedophiles talk about their crimes

10 September 2015 - 11:00 By TANYA FARBER
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
A teddy bear. File photo
A teddy bear. File photo
Image: Thinkstock

“It was extremely traumatic listening to, engaging with and being empathic to perpetrators who disclosed harrowing details of their sexually abusive acts. But I had to remain as such to get them to speak to me,” says Kgauhelo Lekalakala, a PhD graduate who wanted to know how perpetrators of child sex abuse make sense of what they’ve done. 

This meant going straight to the heart of a scourge that, according to Rape Crisis, sees upward of 50 000 children raped in the country every year.

story_article_left1

She soon found herself sitting alone face to face with 27 perpetrators of what is often considered the most reviled of crimes in South Africa and, while it was an academic research project on the one hand, it was also a personal journey of processing the most uncomfortable of information.

Emmanuel, for example, told her: “The way I see it, I can say there are no children anymore in this world”.

For Nathan, it came down to this: When he was aroused he went out to find ways to satisfy his desire.

“I didn't see a child, I saw an object”, he said.

While the victims of the offenders range from just 18 months old to seven years old, the offenders are all incarcerated male sex offenders, aged between 16 and 86.

All have been convicted for and were recruited from within eight correctional facilities in Gauteng, Limpopo and North West Province.

The men – all of whom willingly participated - hail from all racial and ethnic groups, and some are from rural areas while others are from urban.

“The complexity highlights the fact that not one explanation is adequate for understanding this phenomenon, and there is a paucity of research on perpetrators’ perspectives,” she says.

story_article_right2

She found:

• Many conflated the word ‘child’ with the word ‘woman’

• Childhood ceased to exist as children’s friendly behaviours were interpreted as a sign that they were capable of initiating a sexual encounter.

• Many of the perpetrators sexually abused children who were the same age that they were at when they were abused.

• Many still showed pro-abusive attitudes towards young children

• The death of a mother during their early childhood played a part for some

• Women, and children, are still seen by vast numbers of SA men as objects for male enjoyment.

• Child rape is sometimes used to punish women and put them in their place.

• Position themselves as having no agency in the abuse

Shanaaz Mathews, director of the Children’s Institute at UCT, says “sexual violence affects 39 percent of girls in South Africa and 16 percent of boys” and that “structural interventions to reduce poverty are critical for violence prevention.”

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now