South African children are getting a raw deal.
That's according to faith-based organisation, World Vision SA and the University of Stellenbosch, as the country marked the beginning of Child Protection Week on Monday.
Stellenbosch University said in a statement that more than 20% of South African children have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, and urgently need treatment.
It said that researchers at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences are studying new avenues of providing this essential psychological treatment in a violent society with a high exposure to trauma such as that of South Africa.
The University said that "this research has particular significance during Child Protection Week, commemorated from 27 May to 2 June, during which the focus is placed on the well-being of children.
"In a study undertaken in South Africa, 14,5% of adolescents met criteria for PTSD. An additional 10,3% of adolescents met partial criteria for PTSD, but were still functionally impaired," it said.
The study by the FMHS examined how kids and teenagers who have experienced trauma and developed PTSD, could potentially be counselled by registered nurses trained by an expert.
"We hope our study can help increase the access of adolescents with PTSD to much-needed support in a developing country such as South Africa," said principal researcher Jaco Rossouw. The research forms part of his doctoral study in the Department of Psychiatry at the FMHS.
"This treatment, if proven successful, could help to significantly improve community access to specialised mental health services," Rossouw said.
Rossouw explained that a trained professional psychologist sees 35 patients in a week. With 10 counsellors, that number can increase to 350.
"You need only one behaviour therapy expert to supervise and guide the counsellors. Within a South African context with its limited public health psychological services, it is crucial that we find ways of making these psychological interventions more readily available to the broader population," he added
Meanwhile, the National Director of faith-based organisation, World Vision SA, Paula Barnard, said the current state of violence against children should be declared a National Disaster.
"Violence against our children has reached epidemic proportions and like any other disease, be it HIV/AIDS or Ebola, it should be treated as a National Disaster and remedied accordingly," Barnard said.
She added that "As a collective group of humanitarian organisations, churches and the Department of Social Development worried about the shocking levels of violence against children, we simply can't keep up with the investment required to reach children affected by violence. "
Barnard said that if the violence does not end it will then spill over into the extend generation.
She cited the Children's Institute Report saying, "violence is interlinked and cumulative in nature, children who experience or witness violence are at increased risk of re-victimisation or perpetration later in life and when they become parents themselves they often lack the ability to bond with their own children and are more inclined to use violence".
"If one considers all the statistics and current dire lack of resources, it is clear that declaring violence against children a National Disaster is the only feasible solution. This is not a problem that is going to go away - we need political will, increased funds and personal commitment from government to start to address the impact of this social disease," Barnard concluded.
