Philander, Rachel2014-02-072014-02-072006http://hdl.handle.net/11070/321Sexual abuse amongst learners with hearing impairment should be a matter of great concern to all those who are involved in working with the hearing impaired. This study aimed at finding preventive strategies to protect learners with hearing impairments from sexual abuseThe results showed that such strategies were lacking at home, at school, at the hostel as well as in the larger society. Data collected through questionnaires showed that parents were unable to discuss sexual matters with their hearing impaired children because of a variety of reasons, like the low academic qualifications of these parents, their standard of living and their emotional well-being. Interviews revealed that matrons who were responsible for taking care of the hearing impaired learners were not fully equipped with the knowledge as to what exactly sexual abuse entailed and how to protect the learners from itThe teachers at the Institute for Special Education indicated through questionnaires, that they mainly focussed on the older learners with respect to the raising of awareness about sexual abuse and the prevention thereofThe younger learners, who were equally vulnerable to sexual abuse, were regarded as not being able to handle the information about it. Data obtained from interviews revealed that both boys and girls had difficulty in applying the information taught in school about sexual abuse in their everyday life. Consequently they were unable to protect themselves from sexual abuseMore girls than boys seemed to have difficulty as to how to handle possible abusive situations. This situation occurred despite the girls' knowledge about child sexual abuseThe prevention of sexual abuse amongst hearing impaired learners seemed to be obstructed by myths held by society about people with disabilities in generalThese and other findings are discussed in the thesis with the intention of making recommendations on the prevention of sexual abuse amongst learners with hearing impairmentii, 72 leavesengSex abuseEars & HearingLearningThesisF004-20060710