Child Abuse

It is commonplace in some parts of the world to have a housekeeper who is referred by employment bureaus or recommended by friends or relatives. The housekeeper lives with a career-minded married couple, who may or may not have children.

They may be male or female, old or young, a relative or non-relative and are typically employed informally, meaning no paperwork is filed formally for taxes to be deducted from the wages paid to the housekeeper. The housekeepers are also not members of unions - though there have been recent attempts to change that in some places - so their pay is not regulated, though the government might have some unenforced guidelines under labour laws,.

In the case of one family, Jared and his wife Sofia employed an older woman from the countryside, to do their housework and care for their younger children. The couple had six children. Their youngest was a six-year-old boy named Dennis who went to pre-school in the mornings. Of the other children, two were in primary school and the three eldest were in secondary boarding schools.

Dennis’ older siblings went with him to the bus stop to wait for the school bus in the mornings, and the housekeeper picked him up from the same bus stop at lunchtime on weekdays. While at home with Dennis, the housekeeper was to serve him lunch and put him to sleep until four in the afternoon. After four, she was to give him a bath before serving him and the other two younger children a snack.

The housekeeper, however, never gave Dennis the chance to take his afternoon nap. She had a devious scheme up her sleeve that little Dennis, his parents and siblings knew nothing about. She kept him company and busy playing with his toys for a little while and then gave him a bath straight away. She introduced adult sexual games to the poor little boy at bath time and extended it into the bedroom after bathing him! The little boy was basically taught to do to her what a male adult would.

The boy obviously found this strange and unfamiliar, but as time went on he got used to it. In addition, she made threats to kill him by slicing his throat, like she did when cutting open chicken in the kitchen, if he refused to do what she wanted or reported what she was having him do. This went on for a full year until the boy caught a sexually transmitted disease.

One Saturday afternoon, when the housekeeper was away shopping, Dennis’ mother, Sofia, decided to give him a bath.

He was, however, reluctant to have his mother bathe him, and said, “Right now, Mom? The housekeeper will give me a bath when she comes back. Isn’t she coming soon?”

He said this while trying to free himself from his mother’s grip.

Sofia thought that he was being playful in an attempt to delay his bath. Little did she know what was awaiting her! She insisted and took him to the bathroom; filled the bath with warm water; prepared soap, sponge and towel; and asked him to remove his clothes. Sofia then saw that her son’s skin in the genital area looked unusual and upon close inspection, appeared infected. She then remembered that he had developed an awkward walk over the past few months.

She recalled asking him, “Dennis, what is wrong? You don’t seem to walk properly of late? Is your back OK?”

He said, “Yes. I hurt my knees a little while playing at school with other kids.”

“If you injured yourself, why didn’t you tell us the day it happened?” his concerned mother probed.

The boy had no answer to that question.

Remembering that conversation made his mother suspicious enough to want to check her son’s body entirely, so as to find out what else was injured or infected. She could not take his word for it.

Sofia then called out urgently, “Jared, come quickly!”

“Where are you?” Jared asked.

“I am in the bathroom with Dennis.” She responded.

On arrival Jared asked, “What is it?”

“Look in this area,” she told him, while pointing to Dennis’ groin.

Jared calmly asked the seven-year old what the truth was, and he admitted to what had been happening, including the threats made to prevent him from reporting anything.

When the housekeeper returned and was asked about Dennis’ accusations, she denied everything, pretending that she had noticed the infection the day before, and was going to inform them that evening. Dennis threatened to call the police and she then admitted to her abominable behaviour.

She was sent packing that evening and Dennis was taken to hospital for treatment. He eventually recovered but his parents had decided never again to hire a housekeeper.