Using a multisectoral approach in tackling child sexual abuse: lessons from a Zimbabwean case study

Child sexual abuse is one of the prevalent social ills that affect children in Zimbabwe. In response to the problem of child sexual abuse and the need to mitigate its adverse effects, Zimbabwe established the Victim Friendly System. The Victim Friendly System is a multisectoral forum made up of soci...

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Main Authors: Muridzo, Noel G., Chikadzi, Victor
Other Authors: #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
Format: text
Language:English
Published: Unisa 2021
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Online Access:https://upjournals.co.za/index.php/SWPR/article/view/5251
https://doi.org/10.25159/2415-5829/5251.
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4179
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author Muridzo, Noel G.
Chikadzi, Victor
author2 #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
author_facet #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
Muridzo, Noel G.
Chikadzi, Victor
author_sort Muridzo, Noel G.
collection DSpace
description Child sexual abuse is one of the prevalent social ills that affect children in Zimbabwe. In response to the problem of child sexual abuse and the need to mitigate its adverse effects, Zimbabwe established the Victim Friendly System. The Victim Friendly System is a multisectoral forum made up of social workers, medical doctors, nurses, the police force and role players within the justice system such as magistrates, prosecutors, counsellors, educationists and psychologists. These professionals offer distinctive but complementary interventions to child survivors of child sexual abuse. This paper discusses the merits and lessons gleaned from using the Victim Friendly System as a multisectoral forum to tackle child sexual abuse. In researching this phenomenon, the study adopted a qualitative approach and data were collected from 38 participants and 4 key informants selected using theoretical and purposive sampling respectively. A total of 300 court files of child sexual abuse cases were also reviewed. The findings that emerged from the study show that a multisectoral approach to dealing with child sexual abuse provides the benefit of integrated service delivery. Improved outcomes for victims of sexual abuse as well as streamlined, effective and efficient operations for organisations that form part of the Victim Friendly System were also evident. This notwithstanding, the paper also discusses some areas of concern that could potentially affect how the Victim Friendly System multisectoral arrangement works. The lessons that emerged from the study provide some insights that are useful in informing guidelines for multisectoral arrangements.
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spelling ir-11408-41792022-10-15T20:21:47Z Using a multisectoral approach in tackling child sexual abuse: lessons from a Zimbabwean case study Muridzo, Noel G. Chikadzi, Victor #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE# #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE# Child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse is one of the prevalent social ills that affect children in Zimbabwe. In response to the problem of child sexual abuse and the need to mitigate its adverse effects, Zimbabwe established the Victim Friendly System. The Victim Friendly System is a multisectoral forum made up of social workers, medical doctors, nurses, the police force and role players within the justice system such as magistrates, prosecutors, counsellors, educationists and psychologists. These professionals offer distinctive but complementary interventions to child survivors of child sexual abuse. This paper discusses the merits and lessons gleaned from using the Victim Friendly System as a multisectoral forum to tackle child sexual abuse. In researching this phenomenon, the study adopted a qualitative approach and data were collected from 38 participants and 4 key informants selected using theoretical and purposive sampling respectively. A total of 300 court files of child sexual abuse cases were also reviewed. The findings that emerged from the study show that a multisectoral approach to dealing with child sexual abuse provides the benefit of integrated service delivery. Improved outcomes for victims of sexual abuse as well as streamlined, effective and efficient operations for organisations that form part of the Victim Friendly System were also evident. This notwithstanding, the paper also discusses some areas of concern that could potentially affect how the Victim Friendly System multisectoral arrangement works. The lessons that emerged from the study provide some insights that are useful in informing guidelines for multisectoral arrangements. 2021-05-13T11:04:50Z 2021-05-13T11:04:50Z 2020 text 2708-9355 https://upjournals.co.za/index.php/SWPR/article/view/5251 https://doi.org/10.25159/2415-5829/5251. http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4179 en Southern African Journal of Social Work and Social Development;Vol. 32; No. 1: p. open Unisa
spellingShingle Child sexual abuse
Muridzo, Noel G.
Chikadzi, Victor
Using a multisectoral approach in tackling child sexual abuse: lessons from a Zimbabwean case study
title Using a multisectoral approach in tackling child sexual abuse: lessons from a Zimbabwean case study
title_full Using a multisectoral approach in tackling child sexual abuse: lessons from a Zimbabwean case study
title_fullStr Using a multisectoral approach in tackling child sexual abuse: lessons from a Zimbabwean case study
title_full_unstemmed Using a multisectoral approach in tackling child sexual abuse: lessons from a Zimbabwean case study
title_short Using a multisectoral approach in tackling child sexual abuse: lessons from a Zimbabwean case study
title_sort using a multisectoral approach in tackling child sexual abuse: lessons from a zimbabwean case study
topic Child sexual abuse
url https://upjournals.co.za/index.php/SWPR/article/view/5251
https://doi.org/10.25159/2415-5829/5251.
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4179
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