Society has a duty to protect the young’s mental health

VICTIMS of child abuse, who are not treated for mental health issues immediately, can turn into abusers one day, according to social workers in Durban.

This was in response to the 2021/2022 South African Child Gauge that was recently released by UCT's Children's Institute.

It found that 50% of adult mental health disorders are established by age 14.

The report highlighted how children and adolescents in South Africa continued to face multiple adversities that erode their mental health. Abuse and neglect were found to be the top two contributors to compromised mental health in children.

Professor Shanaaz Mathews, the director of the Children’s Institute, said the environment in which young people lived had an impact on their mental health.

The report found that 63% of children in South Africa lived in poverty, which was often exacerbated by inadequate services, discrimination and violence.

Mathews said 39% of children lived below the food poverty line, where food insecurity further intensified the pressures and conflict within the home.

“These children and adolescents are at particular risk of poorer mental health, which can perpetuate an intergenerational cycle of poverty, violence and ill health.”

The report further found nearly one in two children had experienced violence, including physical violence and sexual abuse.

This gave rise to fear, anxiety, panic and shock. If not treated immediately, it could give rise to post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, substance use and other mental health challenges, said the report.

It called on government and leaders in society to be more supportive when it came to mental health issues.

Researchers said that psychological and psychiatric services alone were not sufficient. Other services such as education, health, social services and the criminal justice system needed to recognise and respond to the physical, social, and emotional impact of trauma on children.

Moonira Abdul Roaf, the chief social worker for Durban and Coastal Mental Health, said when a child faced neglect or abuse it had an effect on their mental health.

“They can become fearful, feel isolated and find it difficult to trust others. Additionally, they could become abusers themselves, thus creating a vicious cycle.

“We have found in our work with children that often they are prone to developing substance use disorders and mental disorders such as anxiety disorder, conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder,” Roaf said.

She said these types of disorders were difficult to treat and often resulted in the demand by family and community members to have the children removed and placed in alternative care.

“However, in South Africa, we do not have facilities that cater to the needs of such children. This often results in them getting involved in criminal behaviour.”

She said in order to protect the mental health of children, it was necessary to provide loving relationships for them.

“Keep communication open and honest. Help in developing good self-esteem. Provide opportunities for independence. Build trust and be consistent. Teach stress management skills and establish healthy habits. Watch out for red flags. Do not feel shy to seek professional help.”

Aroona Chetty, director of Phoenix Child Welfare, said assistance in mental health for children was just as important as it was for adults.

“If children are abused or neglected and they do not get therapy, this can affect them for life. That’s why therapy is so important. However, we don’t get a subsidy for a therapist.”

Logan Naidu, president of Chatsworth Child Welfare, said if children’s mental health was not made a priority, they would be likely to be dysfunctional members of society.

“Every case we deal with involves issues of mental health. Abuse can also be neglect. It doesn’t have to be a situation where the child is physically beaten, but that the child was not cared for. The child could not have been fed or clothed properly or sent to school. A child’s mind is affected by all of that.”

He said one example of mental health issues was deviant behaviour.

“They become destructive and normally attack family members and others.”

Naidu said how they normally handled such cases was to engage the child in intensive therapy and counselling.

“Should the child require more than counselling and therapy, we refer the child to a hospital or specifically the Durban Mental Health facility. This is where a child is able to access medication and more intense therapy.”

In Chatsworth, he said, they had a stakeholder group with religious and community leaders.

“We do work with them when we need help but that alone is not sufficient. The government needs to be more helpful. As it stands there is not a seamless service between us and government institutions.”

Mhlabunzima Memela, the spokesperson for the Department of Social Development in KwaZulu-Natal, said while mental health fell under the Department of Health, they had a responsibility to protect children.

“This is what the department has been doing. We have been making sure the rights of children are protected by removing children from an unhealthy environment. Children who have mental health conditions are also taken to youth- and child-care centres, and frequently taken to the medical practitioners.”