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The legal system
Under our law, some adults, like
teachers, must pass on the information to the police or social
services. If a child phones Childline Gauteng to talk about being abused,
the counsellor does not have to tell anyone else. Nothing is
passed on to the police or social services unless the child wants
to take that step or is in serious danger.
There are laws to help protect
children and to bring perpetrators to justice. These laws describe what
should happen if a child tells about being abused, or is in danger
of suffering 'significant harm'.
By law, the local authority has a
duty to make enquiries about any allegation of abuse. This means
that a social worker may come to talk to the child and the
parents, and try to find out the facts, and decide whether the
child is in any danger of abuse or neglect. Many investigations go
no further than this, but sometimes, social workers decide that
they need to have a child protection conference.
Usually, many people from the
child's life are invited - teachers, doctors, health visitors,
play workers, as well as the police and social workers. The child
and their family may also be invited.
The law can also make the person
who is believed to be the abuser leave the family home, rather
than the child. The police have to go to court to get agreement
and it is only for a certain time, but it means that the child can
stay in their familiar home, with the other parent and members of
their family.
Once a child has made an
allegation, the police may also be involved, and the child may be
interviewed on video by a member of the police child protection
team. The police do this in order to gather evidence to bring the
perpetrator to court, and the child may go to court to give
evidence when the case is heard.
This can be a harrowing time for
children, but with a loving family and counselling or therapeutic
help when they need it, there is every hope and chance that they
will get better.
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