'This actually CAN occur': How to protect children from 'unlikely' sexual predators

702's Bongani Bingwa speaks to child protection activist and founder of For the Voiceless, Robyn Wolfson Vorster.

Listen below:

Wolfson Vorster says that often the perpetrators of sexual abuse of children are not the 'strange, creepy' males we expect, but can be someone we know, and often it's women who commit these acts, on both boys and girls.

"What we do know about this crime is that it's very seldom reported... particularly around the abuse of girls by women. There's very seldom an arrest, and there's very seldom a prosecution."

- Robyn Wolfson Vorster, Child Protection Activist 

Wolfson Vorster says that even when these crimes are reported, they are often not believed, especially if it's a female relative, and this in turn creates even more trauma for the survivors.

She says it's crucial to change the narrative around what we are teaching children to keep them safe from this type of abuse at home and school.

"We need to rethink our strategies around female perpetration... and specifically it begins with the acknowledgement that this actually CAN occur, and that this is an issue which we need to take seriously as a society."

- Robyn Wolfson Vorster, Child Protection Activist 

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion.