By Lee-Yandra Paulsen 

South Africa commemorates Child Protection Week from the 29^th of May to 5^th June to raise awareness of children’s rights. The theme for this year’s National Child Protection Week is- “Let Us Protect Children during COVID-19 and Beyond”.

In an interview with VOC Breakfast on Tuesday, Mark de la Rey, Clinical Psychologist at Akeso Kenilworth Clinic, discussed how violence affects children. “The younger the child is the more impact violence has on the child. This is because the child’s brain is still developing. Exposure to violence causes quite a big effect in terms of neurological development, which will then obviously affect how the child fairs later emotionally,” said del la Rey.

He said that children learn by what they observe and not really by what they are told. The way children manage their emotions and actions is based on what they see within their environment.  “Gun violence is the most common thing you might see or hear of, but the general level of violence and aggression is also affecting how these children are acting out against their peers and siblings,” he said.

Child Victims of Violence: Signs and Symptoms 

• The child is aggressive towards peers.  
• Disrespectful to elders 
• The child becomes withdrawn. 

Del la Rey said that parents can help children who are victims of violence by communicating and understanding them. Even though it might be difficult at first, parents should try to get the underlying reason for the child’s behaviour.

VOC News

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