21
The story shows that :
• Sam comes from a family environment of crime , violence and sexual abuse .
• He exhibits antisocial behaviour and has sexually assaulted a small child .
• Is from a poor and large household .
• Is being neglected by mother , but has a caring grandmother .
• The social environment and low income of Sam ’ s family make it difficult to provide available and affordable support .
Sam from South Africa
We have included this story because :
• It is not always possible to determine what happened on the evidence of a child ’ s behaviour and reactions : you may need to keep an open mind and consider several hypotheses .
• Sam ’ s case illustrates difficulties that helpers may face , due to language , poverty and the social context .
Sam lived with his grandparents and extended family . Sam ’ s grandmother reported that Sam was naughty , stubborn , and angry . Described as a “ young criminal ”, he had stolen money as well as wheel caps and tyre bolts from cars in the community . Sam ’ s father had died several years earlier , when Sam was four , and soon afterwards his mother left him with his grand-parents and moved to Cape Town . Sam ’ s father had severely abused Sam physically . His mother was reported to have neglected him during this period .
Sam ’ s grandmother said that Sam had recently started to touch young girls inappropriately . She did not know where he had learned this behaviour and worried about the safety of her granddaughters who lived at home with them . Sam ’ s school stated that Sam had been ‘ very slow ’ since grade 1 , but that he had continued to move up with his class . It was reported that Sam had attended counselling in Grade 1 , because his grandmother had been concerned about his reaction to his father ’ s death and his mother ’ s departure ; the counselling did not last long .
Eleven people lived in Sam ’ s small and impoverished home in the township . The family had an inter-generational history of rape , abuse , under-age pregnancy , and mental illness .
In the summer of 2021 , Sam ’ s grandmother said that she returned from a journey to find her granddaughter ( Sam ’ s cousin , then one year old ) humping and grinding on the couch and touching her vulva a lot . She asked what had happened while she was away and one of Sam ’ s other cousins said that Sam had touched the little girl and put his penis on her vagina . When she confronted him , Sam eventually admitted that this was true . She took both the children to a clinic , where the little girl was found to have a vaginal rash , odour and discharge . After four counselling sessions at the clinic , the childcare worker reported that Sam was ‘ doing better ’ and that the main concern was Sam ’ s reading and writing at school ; a psycho-educational assessment was recommended