This morning I read an article on a local news site - News24.co.za - that broke my heart. My country is no stranger to horror stories of violence inflicted on women and children but every now and again I hear of something that renders me incapable of shielding myself emotionally.

This is such a story.

A 5-year old girl was found tied to a kitchen table, chewing on a bone. It was clear she'd been repeatedly raped and it is suspected that her mother (a prostitute) rented out her daughter. The child cannot walk or talk. She might have been eating her own faeces. She's aggressive and does not know how to respond to loving treatment.

I am so angry right now that I'm struggling to find the words to write about this. What the fuck is wrong with people? What?

The mother, the men who raped the child...what kind of creatures are these people? How does someone look into the eyes of a child and see nothing wrong with using that child as if she were worth no more than an inanimate object? 

I can't even begin to imagine the life this little girl has led up until now. I can't imagine what it will take to restore her to physical health, never mind mental health. Wil she ever learn to accept love? Will she ever learn to trust people?

I don't want to put this little girl's story "in context". I don't want to even attempt to understand the socio-economic circumstances of her mother or the men who used this child. Because you know what? Millions of men and women around the glove live in abject poverty and misery yet they don't rape children! They don't rent out their children for others to abuse!

I hope with all my heart that this little girl will recover fully, that she will find a new life - one where she is loved and nurtured and always told that she is beautiful and special. I hope that she gets to a place where she doesn't even have to wonder if she is loved but can take it for granted that she is.