JOHANNESBURG - Former pre-school teacher Amber Lee Hughes will know her fate on Thursday.
She is accused of the rape and murder of four-year-old Nada Jane Challita, her ex-boyfriend’s daughter.
Judgment is expected to be handed down this Thursday morning.
While this case has shocked the country, female sexual abuse of children is more prevalent than we think.
WATCH | Discussion | Under reporting of harassment due to grey areas
Reports suggest that one in four children is abused by a woman.
Child-protection activist Robyn Wolfson Vorster said that in most child abuse cases, they see a process of grooming rather than violent rape.
“It is something where children are coerced, their boundaries are brought down, and they are brought to a place where they end up having sexual intercourse without necessarily consenting to it.”
She added that the reason women are not portrayed as perpetrators is because they are seen as nurturing, loving, and caring.
“Now we are coming to terms with the fact that being a woman doesn’t mean that and women themselves are in denial that they have done something wrong and fail to take responsibility,” she said.