Our Story
The Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children (TTBC) originated in 1986 in response to an urgent need for medical examinations for s*xually abused children. From there it has grown into a fully fledged service for abused children which includes: Forensic medical examinations, forensic assessments, counseling, psychological testing and more recently a diversion programme for youth s*xual offenders.
Professor Lorna Jacklin a specialist pediatrician based at the Johannesburg General Hospital the chairman of the board of directors formed part of the inception of the TTBC. The TTBC is closely monitored by the board of directors who are all from civil society. The financial department is audited every year by a well known and reputable auditing firm.
In South Africa, child abuse is and has been an ongoing problem. As an NGO, our concern is not only to support children and families affected by abuse but also to promote: “CHILD ABUSE NO MORE”. To do this we at the TTBC have a two-pronged approach.
We historically have supported the abused child through the Criminal Justice System to ensure psychological healing takes place and the child is able to fulfill their place as a valuable member in society without the scarring that may perpetuate child abuse in the future. We have done this through forensic medical examinations, supportive therapy, forensic evaluations, psychological testing and a court preparation programme for children and parents, for cases that go to court.
The second prong of the TTBC approach is offering a diversion programme in partnership with the courts for young s*x offenders. This programme is designed to redirect the child offender away from the criminal justice system in order to rehabilitate the child into more constructive behaviours. We hereby prevent the child from developing into an adult offender which in turn will help us achieve our aim of “Child Abuse no more”
