An investigation into the patterns of child sexual abuse and victim-perpetrator relationships among survivors of child sexual abuse at a university

Abstract

Child sexual abuse in South Africa is recognised as a widespread and serious concern, and is reportedly a significant contributor to the morbidity and mortality of young South Africans. Against this backdrop, university settings have been challenged to provide effective campus-based programmes to manage the effects of child sexual abuse, as well as to inform regional and national prevention strategies. Given the absence of published research in this field, the current study aims to investigate the prevalence and patterns of child sexual abuse and victim-perpetrator relationships among a sample of university students. A quantitative methodological approach was utilised to gather data from a group of first year students at a historically disadvantaged institution, the University of the Western Cape. The data was analysed using quantitative statistical methods. The research participants reported a higher incidence of being sexually touched than of sexual intercourse, oral sex and anal sex. In this respect, more males than females reported being sexually touched, which is in contradiction to previous findings; While the current study revealed a higher prevalence of child sexual abuse by friends or acquaintances, the results indicated that more females than males were sexually abused by relatives. These results support previous findings, which highlight difficulties in the social arrangements that organise sexual life in our society. Male participants reported being less affected then and now, while females were significantly affected then but more moderately now. Additionally, the study found a higher incidence of psychological coercion for females than males. The findings of this study are generally congruent with those reported in the literature. The results of this study highlight the need for more structured sex education programmes at schools and universities, especially pertaining to child sexual abuse awareness. The study also confirms that further research is needed on the effects of child sexual abuse on university students, both male and female, so as to inform the formulation and implementation of responsive curative and preventative intervention programmes. It is hoped that the findings of this study will be of utility to psychologists, social workers, university management, lecturers and students in planning a range of preventative strategies to reduce the high prevalence of child sexual abuse on the Cape Flats, and to address its sequelae.