Children have the right to be safe
The scourge of violent crimes against children in South Africa is at an all-time high.
The scourge of violent crimes against children in South Africa is at an all-time high. According to last year’s second-quarter crime statistics, 558 children were killed between April and September.
Between July and September of the same year, the police were investigating attempted murder dockets of 294 children.
The third-quarter statistics show an increase in child murderers, with 315 children under the age of 17 killed between October and December 2022.
Gugu Xaba, the interim CEO of Save the Children, said we cannot tolerate these deplorable acts of violence against children no longer in our society.
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“We have failed our children and cannot continue with business as usual. The elimination of violence against children, including their overall protection, is our collective responsibility.”
She said the country’s history of violence and inequality, compounded with poverty and high unemployment rates, places many children at risk of domestic violence, substance abuse, sexual abuse and neglect.
“As a country, we must take the long view if we want to end violence against children, tipping the balance from viewing it as a criminal justice issue towards prevention.
“We need to recognise that violence results from the failure of all of us to provide the support, opportunities and safety nets that underpin a functional society.
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“Violence is directly affecting our people, communities, health, education, well-being and national prosperity. It undermines all our investment in these areas; our very democracy. There is nothing more important than violence prevention for the future of our children,” said Xaba.
“The key to the prevention of violence against children is collaboration between government, academia, civil society, children, and other stakeholders to prevent violence from happening in the first place.
“South Africa has thousands of experts, organisations and institutions already involved in attempting to prevent violence against children. This sector is highly fragmented, and organisations tend to operate in isolation.
“This lack of coordination and collaboration extends to the substantial number of interventions we have in place to respond to the challenge.
“They do not add up to a systemic approach, and we do not see these interventions working well together to strengthen the protective environment around each child. We are in an urgent race to save our children’s lives.
“As an organisation, we will continue to garner support from government, civil society and the corporate sector. Strategic partnerships and alignment with national and global coalitions and the media are key to achieving our goal of strengthening the capacity of duty-bearers through scaling up violence-prevention programmes in the spaces where our children find themselves,” said Xaba.
