Read Lesley's Blog
It happens in the UK as well…..
We’ve all read the atrocious stories in the UK press. Doesn’t it simply defy belief that a father can behave in such a brutal way towards his children – whether or not the statutory services could have done something, the fundamental responsibility lies with the man who rapes his daughters at any age, let alone at 8 years old.
We are just in the run-up to Christmas in the UK and although the credit crunch has already bitten hard many of us will be thinking about what we can do to celebrate the season of good cheer and joy to all. I just ask you to remember that at any time of the night or day a small child somewhere in South Africa is being badly abused, often in a similar way to these lassies in Sheffield
I have just returned from South Africa and meeting people whose lives have been irretrievably traumatised by unspeakable abuse — there it is around 20 times higher than in the UK, and those are the ones we know about.
Many of the children concerned live in isolated communities far from anywhere else and where there is almost no infrastructure to help and support … however imperfectly. Through our training of community volunteers we know that dire things are happening day in day out.
Why December is particularly bad:
- When the heat comes small children pee much more often in the bushes —many town-ships/camps have no running water or even pit latrines—there the children are attacked by someone simply waiting to pounce.
- Schools break-up on 5th December for a month and the incidents of abuse rockets. Alcohol and drugs abound, more babies are simply abandoned left in rubbish bins or on street corners or taxis and the incidence of rape quadruples.
- The schools and crèches and nurseries finish for a month because the teachers and carers need a holiday – many young children have parents that have to work all through the break, and the children are left often running wild, unattended, unchecked and highly vulnerable.
What has happened in the UK is truly, truly dreadful. Please also remember the hundreds of children, black or white, for whom, from very early on in their lives, this brutalising is a regular occurrence. We are working hard to train as many community volunteers to protect children and help stop the abuse
We appreciate, so much, any support you can offer. Thank you.
December 2008
Lesley Rudd
Chief Executive
the infant trust