THE four boys who allegedly sexually assaulted a 7-year-old girl at a Soshanguve school, north of Pretoria, may have gotten some gratification out of the act.
But experts insisted that the boys' actions were not sexual.
Lizette Schoombie, of the Teddy Bear Clinic, and Lifeline's Debbie Harrison acknowledged that while the boys' actions were serious, they were born out of curiosity.
"A child (of that age) caught up in that kind of situation will probably know that something is wrong but not why it is wrong," Harrison said. Schoombie agreed.
"You do get behaviour where children explore each other's private parts because they look so different," she said.
Harrison and Schoombie warned against treating the boys in a harsh way.
Sowetan last week reported that the girl's mother opened a criminal case against the boys and that the matter had been referred to the National Director of Public Prosecutions.
'Sex boys' curious - experts
THE four boys who allegedly sexually assaulted a 7-year-old girl at a Soshanguve school, north of Pretoria, may have gotten some gratification out of the act.
But experts insisted that the boys' actions were not sexual.
Lizette Schoombie, of the Teddy Bear Clinic, and Lifeline's Debbie Harrison acknowledged that while the boys' actions were serious, they were born out of curiosity.
"A child (of that age) caught up in that kind of situation will probably know that something is wrong but not why it is wrong," Harrison said. Schoombie agreed.
"You do get behaviour where children explore each other's private parts because they look so different," she said.
Harrison and Schoombie warned against treating the boys in a harsh way.
Sowetan last week reported that the girl's mother opened a criminal case against the boys and that the matter had been referred to the National Director of Public Prosecutions.
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