Growing concern over impact of gang violence on children

There’s growing concern over the impact of gang violence on children in Cape Town’s most vulnerable communities.

Welfare organisation Badisa said that trauma was taking a toll on young lives, especially in gang-affected areas where children have been wounded or killed by stray bullets.

Shannon Usher from Badisa said that the trauma often showed up in schools, but many lacked the resources to support affected learners.

Social workers and counsellors were also stretched thin.

Usher warned that behavioural changes, like refusing to leave home, skipping school, or dressing differently, could be early signs of gang recruitment.

She urged parents and guardians to stay alert and seek help if they noticed worrying shifts in their child’s behaviour.

"In the beginning, the child would refuse to leave the home, the child would refuse to go to school and when the behaviour then starts to escalate, the child would stay away from home for long periods of time, their attire would start changing. But in the beginning, when the child refuses to leave the home, that is when the child is in the recruitment phase by the gang."