Still no services after 21 years, say Silversands residents

Community want potholes and sewers fixed and a police station, clinic, taxi rank and library built

Dozens of residents barricaded Heidelberg Road with burning tyres to vent their frustration over a lack of services in Silversands, Blue Downs. Photo: Vincent Lali

Dozens of residents barricaded Heidelberg Road with burning tyres to vent their frustration over a lack of services in Silversands, Blue Downs. Traffic was disrupted for about two hours on Monday.

The protesters carried placards that read: “Silversands community needs health care” and “Backyarders need housing”.

Silversands community spokesperson Pakamisa Keswa said the protesters came from Hindle Corridor, which includes Fairdale, Sunbird Park, Summerville and Camelot.

Keswa said, “The residents have been staying here for more than 21 years, but they don’t see service delivery in their areas.”

The protesters wanted a police station in Silversands. Currently people have to walk an hour to Mfuleni to report crime.

“Every week our toilets get blocked and our storm water drains break down. We want the government to fix them permanently,” said Matthew Vigeland. “Shit comes out of the drains and streams down our road.”

He also said the roads were full of potholes.

Teressa Heckrath said the community wanted a clinic with a maternity ward, a taxi rank and a library.
“It’s dangerous to walk to Mfuleni clinic for those who don’t have cars as they get mugged along the way,” she said.

She said people had to wait without shelter for taxis to other places for services. “How do pregnant women and senior citizens get medical attention?” she asked.

“Our kids use a mobile library that comes once in a while. Because it doesn’t have enough resources for our kids to do their school projects, they go to a better resourced library in Kuils River,” she said.

Basil Smith, Chairperson of Silversands Neighbourhood Watch, said he and other patrollers had been struggling for five years to get basic equipment. “We don’t have torches, two-way radios. The ones we have are outdated and don’t function properly, so we need new torches, jackets,” he said. “We use our own cars and petrol when we patrol, so we want funding.”

Ward 108 Councillor Thembisile Bathembu (ANC) did not respond to GroundUp’s questions.

Mayco member for Human Settlements Malusi Booi said the City is “currently following due process with the Blueberry Hill Housing Project in Blue Downs” — “a mixed-use development” that will have land “available for commercial and business uses, schools and other community facilities such as crèches, churches, parks, etc”. The “actual construction of these will remain the responsibility of the respective departments such as Department of Education, Health etc,” said Booi.

Captain FC van Wyk of SAPS said: “This office is unaware of the complaints or dissatisfaction of the Silversands Neighbourhood watch. We, therefore request that they direct their complaints or dissatisfaction directly to the acting Station Commander, Colonel Mvumbi, and not through the media.”

© 2019 GroundUp
 23 October 2019   By Vincent Lali

How a lawyer used a Lottery-funded project as his personal ATM

Lesley Ramulifho paid for fancy restaurants, high-end interior decor and work on a Porsche using money meant for a drug rehab

The Lottery funding given to Denzhe was to build a brand new rehab. Instead, Lesley Ramulifho found an existing rehab and demolished it and rebuilt a brand new facility. The new rehab, pictured above, is unfinished and mostly not in use.

Bank accounts belonging to a hijacked non-profit organisation (NPO), into which millions of rands in Lottery grants were paid, were used by controversial lawyer and Lottopreneur Lesley Ramulifho to help fund his lavish lifestyle.

Leaked bank statements for two accounts belonging to Denzhe Primary Care, a Lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre, reveal that besides building and construction-related payments, there are also multiple EFT and debit card payments that do not appear to be related to the NPO. Denzhe was funded by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) to the tune of over R27.5 million.

Ramulifho and Liesl Moses, an employee at Ramulifho’s legal practice, who is also the mother of his child, are both signatories on the FNB and Nedbank accounts.

A trip to Cape Town - and the bank card goes along

The rehab is just outside Pretoria. Yet there were several payments early in February 2018 related to a trip to Cape Town using Denzhe’s funds, including:

• Two payments to British Airways of R2,686.49 each and a further two payments of R1,986.09 each to South African Airways, all on 2 February 2018;
  
• R4,207.20 for a Comair flight the following day;
  
• R9,183.60 payment to “Westin Cap”, a reference to the upmarket Westin Hotel, close to the V&A Waterfront, on the same day;
  
• R3,807.97 to “Nike V&A”, also on the same day;
  
• R24,185 at Isabelina, an upmarket decor outlet with a branch on Cape Town’s Waterfront, on 5 February. It is one of several Isabelina outlets in malls in Cape Town and Johannesburg, with each branch offering the services of an “inhouse interior decorator”;
  
• R918 for a meal at Willoughby & Co in Victoria Wharf at the Waterfront.
  
  

Besides the Cape Town sojourn, the bank statements are littered with many other payments that appear to be unrelated to the rehab. Among them are:

• R37,607.63 and R29,596.53 on 7 April 2017, and a further R60,000 four days later, for foreign currency purchases;
  
• R30,000 on 13 April 2017, for “sports field construction”. No such facility exists at the rehab;
  
• R2,298 at Old Khaki on 29 April 2017, and R3,830 at shoe outlet Shesha four days later;
  
• R25,000 paid to Afric Tennis Court, which builds and maintains tennis and basketball courts, on 6 May 2017. Neither a tennis or basketball court exists, or was built, at the rehab;
  
• R1,052.00 and R259 at Forti Bar and Grill at Time Square in Menlyn Park, Pretoria, on 3 July 2017. The Denzhe bank card was also used to pay R10 for parking at the centre. On 24 July, the card was again used at Forti for R574 and, once again, it was swiped to pay R10 for parking;
  
• R14,617 paid to “Porsche Centres” on 6 July 2017 (Ramulifho at one stage owned, and may still own, two Porsches);
  
• R5,199 at Altitude Restaurant in Menlyn, Pretoria on 10 July 2017;
  
• R37,018.42 on 6 July 2017, plus R20,214 the next day at Hush Interiors, an upmarket decor outlet;
  
• A bill of R451 at the Heat Grill Room on 20 July, 2017 and R140 at Burger Perfect on 12 August, 2017;
  
• On 22 July 2017, the card was used to pay R360.42 Tops — Spar’s liquor outlets — in Mooikloof in Pretoria East. There are several other payments to Spar, Pick’ n Pay and Woolworths.
  

Attorney Lesley Ramulifho. Photo taken from Instagram

Other payments that appear unrelated to the rehab include:

• R35,527.63 and R4,694 on 25 May 2018 to Qatar Airways;
  
• R250 on 8 February 2018, and a further R180 on 27 March to Be 21 Hair and Beauty Salon, in Garsfontein, Pretoria, where Ramulifho’s law offices are situated;
  
• R1,899 at Gary Rom Hairdressing on 7 July 2017, an upmarket unisex hairdressing salon with branches in Pretoria and Johannesburg;
  
• R164,684 at upmarket decor outlet Decor Republic on 11 February 2017 (the interior of the rehab is spartan and there is no sign of any upmarket decor);
  
• R38,416 to Noks interior marked “decor chairs” on 27 March, 2017;
  
• R599 to “Nike SA” on 15 February 2018;
  
• R305 for flowers at The Flower Shop in Pretoria on 17 February 2018;
  
• R100,000 to “Mehdi Carpets” on 12 February 2018. There is rubber flooring installed but no carpeting at the rehab (Mehdi carpets are Persian);
  
• R210, on 3 March 2018 and R385 on 13 March for “dry cleaning at Olympus Dry Cl” (a drycleaning and laundry service) in Faerie Glen in Pretoria.
  

And then there were some big item tickets.

Earlier payments of over R500,000 were made from the Denzhe FNB account towards two Ocean Basket franchises Ramulifho bought in Gauteng. He claims that the money was a “loan” approved by the board of Denzhe, which he chairs, and has been repaid.

Two separate payments, totaling R85,000, were also made from the Nedbank account for swimming pools. The statements reflect payments for “swimming pool” R30,000, and R55,000 to “infinity pool specialists”. There is an existing swimming pool at the rehab that was renovated using Lottery funding.

There are also payments to a company that builds and maintains tennis and basketball courts and for “sports field development”. None of these facilities exist at the rehab.

The accounts do reflect some payments made to the rehab centre, the purpose for which the Lottery money was granted. But to this day the centre remains unfinished and largely unused.

Shop until you drop, cash at an ATM

The statements also reflect numerous “refunds” from the NPO’s bank accounts to unidentified recipients, usually soon after multimillion-rand deposits by the Lottery.

The leaked bank statements also list frequent cash withdrawals at ATMs ranging from R100 to R3,000.

A common theme running through the statements are top-up deposits, ranging from R100 to a few thousand rands made by “Lesley Ramulifho” when the balance on the account ran low, seemingly to cover the cost of building materials, “construction wages” and other related expenses.

Money in, money out … how Lottery money meant for a drug rehab was spent

Denzhe’s FNB bank account, which had become dormant because of inactivity, reflected an opening balance of R68 in October 2016, according to the FNB bank statement.

On 3 October, Ramulifho paid R100 into the account at FNB’s Olympus Plaza branch to reactivate it. Sixteen days later the NLC deposited R7.5-million, the first tranche of its grant to the NPO to build and run the rehab.

The following day, 20 October, Ramulifho made two payments of R1,550,000 and R5 million for “site establishment”. He also made several payments, amounting to almost R275,000 to suppliers of building material between 24 and 27 October.

The first payment to Ocean Basket from the NPO account was R264,240.34 on 25 October 2016 — referenced as “62 Ocean Basket Cam”. The second payment of R271,000 was made on 23 November 2016 and referenced as “OB Joining Fee”. The franchises Ramulifho purchased were at Carnival City casino and Carnival City Mall in Gauteng. Ramulifho claims this was a “loan” which has been repaid. But if it was repaid, it wasn’t into the same account.

Interspersed between payments to a variety of suppliers for building materials are cash withdrawals at ATMs and a variety of restaurant bills settled with Denzhe’s bank card.

By 19 November, a month after the NLC’s first tranche of R7.5 million was paid, the balance in the account dropped to R4,375.56.

But within three days the second NLC tranche of R7.5-million landed in Denzhe’s account. Within days, amounts of R790,000, R130,000, R50,000 and R100,000 - all referred to as “refund” - were paid to unidentified recipients.

GroundUp has previously reported that the rehab is shoddily built, roofs leak, there are cracks in walls, and doors and windows do not fit properly. An existing lapa was converted into a sports centre by adding a corrugated iron roof and windows. Payments totalling R80,000, marked “Sports centre” were made from the Nedbank account in April 2017. An independent quantity surveyor later found that the total value of work done was R4.8 million, leaving more than R20 million unaccounted for.

GroundUp earlier revealed how Denzhe and several non-profit companies linked to Ramulifho and some of his employees received at least R60-million in Lottery funding for four different projects.

These were the Denzhe drug rehab centre, toilet facilities at rural schools in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo, and a Limpopo-based project established “to provide infrastructure in order to advance sport, recreation and physical activity in communities across the country”.

An investigation by the NLC’s Board found no proof of anything untoward with the Denzhe project. But in a letter to NLC board chairman Alfred Nevhutanda, DTI minister Ebrahim Patel raised concerns about the investigation. He said steps should be taken to recover the Lottery funds and asked the NLC to pursue criminal charges.

Patel said it was “evident that the … funding was not used for the intended purpose.” He also recommended that the NLC pursue “a criminal case” with regard to the alleged abuse of Lottery funds.

“In view of the two forensic investigation reports from your independent investigators, and in light of the investigation outcome, it is evident that the … funding was not used for the intended purpose. The outcome of the investigation is without evidence that the drug rehabilitation centre was completed,” Patel said.

Ramulifho responds

In response to detailed emailed questions, Ramulifho said:
“Raymond you are in no position to be asking anyone in this country or any of my associates any questions, in fact you are not a Journalist, you are a bitter, a liar and disgruntled ex-beneficiary of NLC.”

The NLC has claimed that because Raymond Joseph served on the board of the The Big Issue South Africa, which previously received Lottery funding, he was a beneficiary of these grants. All Big Issue board members serve in a voluntary capacity and are not paid. Joseph has never been involved in any application to the NLC.

Ramulifho’s lawyer, KR Ellliot of Elliot Attorneys Inc, subsequently sent a letter demanding that the source from which the bank statements were obtained be disclosed. Referring to an unsuccessful urgent application for articles about Ramulifho to be removed from the websites of GroundUp, The Citizen and Daily Dispatch, he claimed that any story about the bank statements was “inappropriate” because of this pending litigation. It was also not “in the public interest,” he added.

GroundUp has published this article in partnership with The Citizen.

More about National Lotteries Commission

• Lotteries Commission is trying to sell you horse manure 23 October 2019
• Lottery COO sues GroundUp for R600k 17 October 2019
• NLC response to Sershan Naidoo’s allegations 10 October 2019

© 2019 GroundUp
 22 October 2019   By Raymond Joseph

The bizarre social history of beds

For centuries, people thought nothing of crowding family members or friends into the same bed. miniwide/Shutterstock.com

Groucho Marx once joked, “Anything that can’t be done in bed isn’t worth doing at all.” You might think he was referring to sleeping and sex. But humans, at one time or another, have done just about everything in bed.

And yet, despite the fact that we spend one-third of our lives in bed, they’re more of an afterthought.
I certainly didn’t think much about beds until I found myself talking about their history with the executives of a mattress company. These humble artifacts, I learned, had a big story to tell – one that’s 77,000 years old.

That’s when, according to archaeologist Lynn Wadley, our early African ancestors started to sleep in hollows dug out of cave floors – the first beds. They wrapped themselves in insect-repelling grasses to avoid bed bugs as persistent as those of today’s seedy motels.

Much about our beds have remained unchanged for centuries. But one aspect of the bed has undergone a dramatic shift.

Today, we usually sleep in bedrooms with the door shut firmly behind us. They’re the ultimate realm of privacy. No one else is allowed in them, aside from a spouse or lover.

But as I show in my forthcoming book, “What We did in Bed,” it wasn’t always this way.

Beds full of ‘buck and babble’

The structure of the bed has remained remarkably consistent: We know that raised frames with mattresses were being used in Malta and Egypt by 3000 B.C., which means that people have been using them for over 5,000 years.

Early Egyptian beds were little more than rectangular wooden frames with legs and leather or fabric sleeping platforms. The upper end was often angled slightly upwards. Grass, hay and straw stuffed into sacks or cloth bags served as a scratchy mattress for centuries.

But one thing that has changed is who has occupied the bed. For most of human history, people thought nothing of crowding family members or friends into the same bed.

The 17th-century diarist Samuel Pepys often slept with male friends and rated their conversation skills. One of his favorites was the “merry Mr. Creed,” who provided “excellent company.” In September 1776, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin famously shared a bed in a New Jersey inn with only one small window. Adams kept it shut, but Franklin wanted it open, complaining that he would suffocate without fresh air. Adams won the battle.

Travelers often slept with strangers. In China and Mongolia, kangs – heated stone platforms – were used in inns as early as 5000 B.C. Guests supplied the bedding and slept with fellow tourists.

Bedding down with strangers could lead to some awkwardness. The 16th-century English poet Andrew Buckley complained of bedmates who “buck and babble, some commeth drunk to bed.”

Then there was the Great Bed of Ware – a massive bed kept in an inn in a small town in entral England. Built with richly decorated oak around 1590, the four-post bed is about the size of two modern double beds. Twenty-six butchers and their wives – a total of 52 people – are said to have spent a night in the Great Bed in 1689.

An 1877 drawing of the Great Bed of Ware. Harper's New Monthly Magazine

Holding court

While regular people crammed into beds, royalty often slept alone or with their spouse. But their bedrooms were hardly bastions of privacy.

The ceremonial bedding of newlyweds was a public spectacle for a royal court. After a royal wedding, a form of symbolic intercourse often occurred in front of numerous witnesses.

After the feast, the bride was undressed by her ladies and put to bed. The groom would then arrive in his nightshirt, sometimes accompanied by musicians. The bed curtains were then drawn, yet the guests sometimes wouldn’t leave until they saw the couple’s naked legs touching, or heard suggestive noises. The following morning, the stained bed linen was displayed as proof of consummation.

And why go to an office when you can rule from the bedroom? Each morning, Louis XIV of France would sit in his bed, bolstered by pillows, and preside over elaborate gatherings. Surrounded by courtiers like the gossipy Lord Saint-Simon, he composed decrees and consulted with high officials.

King Louis XIV’s bedroom was a royal staging ground. V_E/Shutterstock.com

From public to private

During the 19th century, beds and bedrooms gradually became private spheres. A major impetus was rapid urbanization during the Industrial Revolution. In cities, compact row houses were constructed with small rooms, each with a specific purpose, one of which was sleeping.

Another reason was religion. The Victorian era was a devout age, and Evangelical Christianity was pervasive by the 1830s. Such beliefs placed great emphasis on marriage, chastity, the family, and the bond between parent and child; allowing strangers or friends under the covers was no longer kosher.

By 1875, Architect magazine had published an essay declaring that a bedroom used for anything other than sleeping was unwholesome and immoral.

Bedrooms reserved for adults and children became commonplace in affluent 19th century homes. Husbands and wives sometimes even had separate bedrooms, perhaps connected by a door, each with their own adjoining dressing rooms.

Self-help books advised Victorian housewives about how to decorate their bedrooms. In 1888, writer and interior decorator Jane Ellen Panton recommended bright colors, washstands, chamber pots and, above all, a “long chair,” where a wife could rest when overwhelmed.

Tech knocks down the door

Today, bedrooms are still considered sanctuaries – a calming place to recuperate from the chaos of everyday life. Portable technology, however, has wormed its way under our covers.

A survey from earlier this year found that 80% of teens brought their mobile devices into their bedrooms at night; nearly one-third slept with them.

In a way, technology has reverted the bed to its earlier role: a place to socialize – chatting with friends, maybe even strangers – late into the night. And we can only wonder how many tweets President Trump has composed while burrowed under his blankets.

But in some ways, the effects of these glowing bedmates seem to be a bit more pernicious. One study surveyed couples who brought their smartphones to bed with them; more than half said the devices caused them to miss out on quality time with their partner. In another study, participants who banished smartphones from the bedroom reported being happier and having a better quality of life.

Maybe that’s because these devices eat into our sleep.

Then again, I’m not so sure my sleep would be much better if I were to bed down with drunk strangers, as Andrew Buckley did.

Nadia Durrani is a contributing author of this article.

[ Thanks for reading! We can send you The Conversation’s stories every day in an informative email. Sign up today. ]
Brian Fagan, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Elder abuse increasing, without increased awareness

Elder abuse is far more common than many believe, making an already challenging time of life harder for those who are victims of it. SpeedKingz/Shutterstock.com

About 16% of older adults are victims of some form of mistreatment and the number of reported cases of elder abuse is steadily increasing. Because of poor record-keeping, however, those of us who study elder abuse don’t know if the trend reflects an actual increase, an increase because of growing numbers of older adults, or only an increase in reporting due to greater awareness.

Elder abuse involves intentional or unintentional acts that result in physical, emotional or financial harm to an individual who is 65 years or older. In the Western world, one could make the case elder abuse was brought to public awareness in 1608 with the publication of Shakespeare’s “King Lear.”

The play is plotted around the mistreatment of an elderly nobleman by his two daughters. However, it was not until the 20th century that the first political conversation about elder abuse appeared in the U.S. national record.

Stories about elder abuse, including one in April 2018, involving a 70-year-old woman who was kept in a dog kennel and tortured by a family member, are not uncommon. Two sisters were arrested in March 2019 for murdering their 85-year-old father. In April 2019 fraud and embezzlement charges were leveled against the manager of Stan Lee, age 95, the late comic book legend. And most recently, a sheriff in rural Georgia was arrested May 29, 2019 for allegedly grabbing a 75-year-old man by his throat.

As gerontologists who have worked in the field and studied elder abuse for many years, we recognize the challenges behind meaningful conversations about elder abuse. The topic not only raises concerns about older adults we love, but also raises uncomfortable feelings about people we might trust and maybe even our own possible fate. We also are concerned because of the growing aging population. If older people are targets for people’s anger or rage and there are few programs in place to help them, what might this mean?

Elder abuse is complex

Elder abuse takes many forms, including emotional, financial and physical abuse. AimPix/Shutterstock.com

Elder abuse has many forms. The Department of Justice estimates that the most prevalent form is financial exploitation, which affects about 5.2% of older adults, then neglect (5.1%), followed by psychological abuse (4.6%), physical abuse (1.6%) and sexual abuse (0.6%). As with the woman kept in a dog kennel, many victims experience multiple forms of abuse.

While the Centers for Disease Control called for standardized nationwide elder abuse surveillance in 2016, and standard definitions exist, elder abuse is still treated as a state problem with each state having its own definitions and reporting systems. Adult Protective Services, federally funded by the Administration on Aging but state-administered to investigate allegation of elder mistreatment, instituted the National Adult Maltreatment Reporting System (NAMRS). However, data are available only since 2016 and participation by states is voluntary and only reported cases are included.

Making it more complex is that elder abuse occurs in many different settings: private homes, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and public places. It also involves different types of perpetrators. A study funded by the National Institute of Justice showed that most perpetrators knew their victims and included spouses, family members, acquaintances and health care professionals. Yet even strangers can be perpetrators.

As a result, identifying a single cause or a simple prevention strategy is very difficult because of the interaction among the form of abuse, the setting and the relationship of the perpetrator to the victim.

Research on elder abuse is scant

Financial abuse of older people can ruin their lives. pathdoc/Shutterstock.com

Elder abuse has not been a national research priority. There has never been a nationwide prevalence study of elder abuse. Research is limited to reported cases, and only about one in 24 cases of abuse is reported. Many go unreported because older adults may not know how to get help or may be incapable of asking for help. Some older adults are unwilling or hesitant to report because they believe abuse is a family matter, or that the objectionable behavior isn’t really abuse. They may be ashamed and embarrassed. They may fear reporting will make the situation worse. They may even love the abuser and don’t want them to get into trouble.

Elder abuse has serious consequences. Studies suggest more than US$5.3 billion is spent annually on medical care related to injuries incurred by older adults as a result of violent crime. Costs related to premature deaths, illnesses and suffering and costs related to other than “violent” crime, such as psychological abuse and neglect and the emotional toll on individuals who are already vulnerable, are incalculable. Every year older adults lose $36.5 billion to exploitation, stranger fraud or violations of trust from family, friends and paid caregivers.

Social isolation breeds elder abuse. Because the victims are usually socially isolated, no one is present to observe the perpetrator’s behavior. Even if there is someone to tell, the older adult may not be believed. Social isolation breeds loneliness, and loneliness is the “hook” of most financial scams experienced by older adults. Loneliness coupled with a real need for support services can drive older adults to form quick and unvetted relationships.

Things to be aware of on June 15

To fully understand the various causes of elder abuse and possible remedies for the various forms of abuse, the various settings and the various perpetrators need to be studied separately. Supporting victims to increase reporting is also essential.

People need to take personal responsibility and report what they see or suspect. We should also be aware of the importance of continued federal and local support for programs like those supported by the Area Agencies on Aging, which are typically designated by states to meet needs older people in local and regional areas, and Meals on Wheels. These groups not only provide support services but also decrease social isolation.

Finally, we need to provide personal contact for the older adults in our orbits. For older adults, personal contact with caring others not only prevents elder abuse, it can saves lives.

[ Thanks for reading! We can send you The Conversation’s stories every day in an informative email. Sign up today. ]

Linda R. Phillips, Professor (Emeritus) of Gerontological Nursing, University of Arizona and Lisa Marie O'Neill, Associate Director of Research and Education, University of Arizona
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Howard Stern talks childhood trauma, and a trauma psychiatrist talks about its lasting effects

With the awakening in society of the importance of mental health, combined with advances in neuroscience and psychiatry, much needed attention to trauma and childhood trauma is slowly forming.

In a recent interview with Anderson Cooper and in his latest book published May 14, Howard Stern discussed childhood adversity and trauma. The two men also discussed their exposure to their parents’ stress and how their reactions as children formed their adult behavior.

As a trauma psychiatrist, I am glad that men with such celebrity are willing to talk about their experiences, because it can help bring awareness to the public and reduce stigma.

Childhood: Learning about the world and the self

A child’s brain is a sponge for learning about how the world works and who they themselves are. We humans have an evolutionary advantage in having the ability to trust the older and learn from them about the world. That leads to cumulative knowledge and protection against adversity, about which only the experienced know. A child absorbs the patterns of perceiving the world, relating to others and to the self by learning from adults.

But when the initial environment is unusually tough and unfriendly, then a child’s perception of the world may form around violence, fear, lack of safety and sadness. Brains of adults who experience childhood adversity, or even poverty, are more prone to detecting danger, at the cost of ignoring the positive or neutral experiences.

Some who experience childhood adversity have to mature faster and become caretakers or provide emotional support for siblings or parents at an age they themselves need to be taken care of. They may end up carrying those patterns of relating to others throughout their adult life.

The child of trauma may also perceive himself or herself as unworthy of love, guilty or bad. The brain of an unknowing child may think: If they do this to me, there should be something wrong with me, I deserve it.

The little world people experience as children forms the way we perceive the real big world, its people and the people we are as adults. This will then form the way the world reacts to us based on our actions.

A world filled with trauma

An unidentified young person participating in therapy at a center for refugees in Detroit. David Dalton/Wayne State University, CC BY-SA

Childhood trauma is more common than one would think: Up to two-thirds of children experience at least one traumatic event. These include serious medical illness or injury, firsthand experience of violence or sexual abuse or witnessing them, neglect, bullying and the newest addition to the list: mass shootings.

Unfortunately, when it comes to domestic violence and sexual abuse, it is often chronic, repetitive exposure, which can be even more detrimental to the child’s mental and physical health and behavior.
Ongoing civil wars and refugee crises also expose millions of children to extremely high levels of trauma, which is often ignored.

How do children react to trauma?

To understand the child’s reaction to trauma, one has to keep in mind their developmental level of emotional and cognitive maturity. Most of the time, confusion is the reaction: The child does not know what is happening or why it is happening.

I hear frequently from my adult patients that when they were molested by a relative as a five-year-old, they did not know what was happening or why a supposedly trusting caregiver was doing it to them. Fear and terror, coupled with a sense of lack of control, are often companions of this confusion.

There is also guilt, as the child may believe they did something wrong to deserve the abuse, and often the perpetrating adults claim they did something wrong to deserve the abuse. Sadly when it comes to sexual abuse, sometimes when the parents are told about it, they choose to deny or ignore the incident. This makes the feelings of guilt and helplessness worse. When the trauma is happening to parents, such as frequent battering of a mother by an alcoholic father, children are stuck between two people they are supposed to love. They may be angry with the father for violence, or angry at the mother for not being able to protect herself and themselves.

They may try to rise to protect mom from father or from her sadness. They may feel guilty for not being able to save her, or have to raise their siblings when parents fail to do so. They learn the world is a brutal and unsafe place, a place where one is abused and one is violent.

Adulthood scars of childhood trauma

Children who are abused can be helped when adults take seriously their reports of abuse. BestPhotoStudio/Shutterstock.com

There is a growing body of research suggesting longstanding impact of childhood trauma: not only that such childhood experiences can form the way the person perceives and reacts to the world, but also that there are lifelong academic, occupational, mental and physical health consequences. These children may have lower intellectual and school performance, higher anxiety, depression, substance use and a variety of physical health problems including autoimmune disease.

Adults who endured childhood trauma have a higher chance of developing post-traumatic stress disorder when exposed to new trauma and show higher rates of anxiety, depression, substance use and suicide. Physical health consequences of childhood trauma in adults include but are not limited to obesity, chronic fatigue, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, metabolic syndrome and pain.

Not all who are exposed to childhood adversity are permanently scarred, and a front line in research of childhood adversity is the predictors of risk and resilience. For instance, there are genetic variations which may make the person more or less vulnerable to impact of trauma. I often see those who were lucky enough to transform their trauma to a meaningful cause, and with the help of a good mentor, therapist, grandparent or positive experiences rise and develop more strength.

This, however, does not mean those who sustain long-term impacts were weaker or tried less. There are a multitude of genetic, neurobiological, family, support, socioeconomic and environmental factors, besides the severity and how chronic the trauma is, that can lead to breaking of the strongest of people when exposed to trauma.

How to deal with childhood trauma

We as a society can do a lot: reduce poverty; educate and provide less privileged parents with support needed for raising their children (although childhood trauma happens also in privileged homes); take seriously children’s report of abuse; remove the source of trauma or remove the child from the traumatic environment; psychotherapy. When necessary, medications can also help.

Fortunately for all of us, recent advances in neuroscience, psychotherapy and psychiatry have provided us with strong tools to prevent the negative impact in the child and reduce a lot of the negative impact in the adults, if we choose to use them.

Arash Javanbakht, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.