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[3]
No unifonn definition exists for the events being counted.
While some experts employ narrow definitions, such as the one
implicit in the phrase "battered child syndrome", others include
in their estimates children who are neglected or have suffered
emotional abuse.
Estimates which derive from cases reported to state and local
authorities reflect bias toward the reporting of certain demographic
groups in particular areas.
* Incidence estimates derived from child abuse case reports lump
together data from many different jurisdictions, and these have
diverse criteria for reportability.
These considerations can be identified as equally applicable to South Africa.
Consequently, all figures are mere estimates, albeit often based on real cases dealt
with by social agencies, courts and hospitals, but recognised by most authors as
representing merely the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Faller (1981) states in this regard
that child abuse and neglect are present in society today in alarming proportions, but
precisely how extensive the problem is, is not known (De Vos 1991:13).
The South African Council for Child and Family Welfare is the organisation whose
figures are probably most representative of the South African situation, as their
affiliated agencies serve all population groups countrywide. In 1986 they reported 549
cases of physical abuse per month and 276 cases of sexual abuse per month (Hennan
& Theart 1988 : 14). This reflects an average of 9900 cases per year. The possibility
that some of these cases may be overlapping with themselves in that the same case
may be carried for a prolonged period of treatment, can be offset against the fact that
these figures reflect the work of only one national system of family agencies, while
there are at least two more systems of more or less equal strength, namely, the state
departments of welfare and the religions bodies, who also work in the field of child
abuse and neglect (De Vos 1991: 14).