Adultification, neglect and sexual abuse at home: Selected narratives of orphaned girls in KwaMashu, South Africa
Date
2023
Authors
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Children & Society
Abstract
This paper explores two orphaned girls' accounts of
victimization and vulnerability to child sexual abuse in
their family homes. Interviews with these girls revealed
a trend of neglect, adversity and processes of adultification which involved accounts of sexual abuse within
their family homes. According to the data, the participants are vulnerable and they experience victimization
as they are routinely sexually abused by older male
relatives and non-related men and boys inside their
family homes – where they are supposed to feel safe and
protected. We argue that these two young girls' experiences need to be understood as consequences of the
prevailing cultures of toxic heteropatriarchal masculinities which have produced and normalized the distribution of male power over girls. The kinds of interventions
required to address toxic masculinities and to insulate
orphan girls from sexual abuse and neglect are also
discussed.
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Keywords
child abuse, neglect, International Resources, South Africa, victim blaming, family home
Citation
Ngidi, N. D., & Mayeza, E. (2023). Adultification, neglect and sexual abuse at home: Selected narratives of orphaned girls in KwaMashu, South Africa. Children & Society. DOI: 10.1111/chso.12691