Sokongan psikososial bagi kanak-kanak yang didera secara seksual di Rumah Kanak-Kanak, Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat

An increase in the number of abused children in Malaysia has resulted in the need to provide physical and emotional support to these children. In many children’s homes, providing psychosocial support is among the critical issues that have been given due attention. The focus of this qualitative study was to conceptualize the meaning of psychosocial support as experienced and understood by the sexually-abused children in children’s homes under the auspices of the Department of Social Welfare. The objectives of the study were to investigate the types of support received by sexually-abused children, to identify the psychosocial support needed by these children and to propose practical social work interventions to further improve the current support system in the institution. A total of 14 sexually-abused children, ages ranging from 12 to 18 years old, were involved in this study. Observations, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were employed in this study. The data were analysed using rigorous manual coding to capture the central themes around the psychosocial support. The findings of the study were organised around three salient themes that emerged: experiences of the sexually-abused children; a network of support resources; and finally institution services. The findings of the study revealed that the institution was able to provide support pertaining to their basic needs. However, the children were hopeful of obtaining more psychosocial supports in terms of emotional assistance from staff, frequent interactions with family members and support from the society. the children at children`s home were more dependent on their peers should they face any problem during their stay in the institution. The theoretical and social work practical implications of the findings should be taken into consideration in conducting intervention processes and measures. In terms of theroetical implication, the research results reported in the study has potential contributions in enriching a corpus body of knowledge and literature on psychosocial supports among children who have been sexually abused. In order to provide better quality service to the affected sexually-abused children, the institution in particular must critically provide adequate and relevant psychosocial supports for the best interest of the children and betterment for their future life