Child Protection Week is commemorated in the country from 26 May to 2 June. A psychiatrist and member of the SA Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP), Dr Wisani Makhomisane says childhood trauma can impact the developing brain and have lifelong after-effects on mental and physical health, limiting children’s prospects in education, employment and positive functioning in society.

Makhomisane added, “Children growing up under conditions of toxic stress due to adverse childhood experience (ACEs) not only struggle to learn and complete schooling but are also at increased risk of becoming involved in crime and violence, substance abuse and other risky health behaviours.

She said they may have difficulty forming healthy and stable relationships and maintaining employment.”

Child Protection Week commemorated

Makhomisane says, that by the age of 17, six in every ten South African children will undergo at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE). This is defined as stressful and potentially traumatic situations that occur during childhood and adolescence and threaten their safety, security, trust or bodily integrity.

“Signs that a child may be experiencing trauma and need help include difficulties in interpersonal relationships and trust, social isolation, separation anxiety sleeping disturbances or eating problems,” she elaborated.

A 2023 South African study found that each ACE event in childhood raised the risk of adulthood depression by 12%, anxiety by 10% and inability to manage stress by 17%.[i] Adult participants in the research had experienced an average of three ACE events by the age of 17.

Children exposed to trauma and violence

She says children have a right to be protected from ACEs, which limit their ability to realise their full potential. She added that timely and appropriate intervention in cases of childhood trauma can lessen the impact on future mental and physical health.

Makhomisane says, “Adverse childhood experiences include physical, sexual or emotional abuse; emotional and physical neglect; and experiencing serious accidents or medical conditions.”

Adverse experiences in the home, community or school are also counted as ACEs, for example, exposure to domestic or community violence, violence or abuse at school, living in poverty or homelessness, family break-ups, or living with a parent with mental health or substance abuse problems.

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Adulthood threatened – Child Protection Week

She says instability or grief due to separation from parents, or the imprisonment or death of a parent, caregiver or close relative also cause stress and trauma that can impact a child’s development.

Furthermore, “Adverse childhood experiences and trauma can also stem from children’s online lives, for example, cyber-bullying, threats, harassment and sexual abuse and exploitation.”

Makhomisane has likened the impact of ACEs on the developing brain to being “chased by a lion for days and weeks on end”.

South Africa’s high levels of poverty

Dr Makhomisane said that South Africa’s high levels of poverty, interpersonal violence, and societal history of trauma, along with the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on losses of family members and loss of income, all contributed to greater risks of ACEs for the country’s children and a higher risk of mental health disorders.

She added, “The brain would be on high alert all the time and the internal alarm system does not ‘turn off’ even once the child is in a safe environment.”

At the same time, a brain adapted to a threatening or unpredictable world will not work as well in a non-threatening environment. This leads to children misinterpreting positive social cues and normal social interactions as threatening and responding with aggression.

THIS ARTICLE WAS COMPILED BY THE TEAM AT JIGSAW PUBLIC RELATIONS.

REFERENCES:

[i] Byansi, W., Galvin, M., Chiwaye, L. et al. Adverse childhood experiences, traumatic events, and mental health among adults at two outpatient psychiatric facilities in Johannesburg, South Africa: a cross-sectional analysis. BMC Psychiatry 23, 581 (2023).

[ii] Meinck F, Cluver LD, Boyes ME, et al. Physical, emotional and sexual adolescent abuse victimisation in South Africa: prevalence, incidence, perpetrators and locations. J Epidemiol Community Health 2016; 70:910–916.

[iii] Stats SA. 2023. Child Series Volume I: Children exposed to maltreatment. Report no. 92-02-01.

[iv] Stats SA. 2024. Child Series Volume II: Crime against children. Report no. 92-02-02.

MORE ABOUT: Dr Wisani Makhomisane