CHILD ABUSE: LISTENING TO THE VOICES OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN ALICE, EASTERN CAPE

Child abuse is a global social “illness” which has led to numerous research studies being done in this area (Mersch, 2011). However, defining, understanding and intervening in child abuse are widely based on the perspective of adults, social service and health care practitioners, and academics (Chan, Lam & Shae, 2011). It has also been noted that published studies done on this topic in South Africa have largely focused on urban experiences, although a large part of the South African population continues to live in villages, rural dwellings, homesteads and informal settlements (Jackson & Karlson, 1991; Madu, 2001; Pierce & Bozalek, 2004). Hence, this research study was conducted in the rural town of Alice by student social workers from the University of Fort Hare in an effort to listen to what primary school children understood about child abus