Government departments and non-profit organisations joined the South African Police Services at the launch of this year’s Child Protection Week at an event held at the East Bank Hall.
This at a time when the nation is reeling from numerous reports of child and women abuse cases in which some of the victims were killed and trafficked into prostitution.
The event was organised by the Joburg North Police Cluster and attended by other provincial clusters.
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Decrying the scourge, Emmanuel Mangena of the South African National Council of Alcohol and Drug Dependency (Sanca) urged society and parents to be exemplary to their children.
“Don’t beat but jointly discipline and educate children on positive life values,” Mangena said while urging women not to consume alcohol when pregnant to avoid bearing children with alcohol fetal syndrome and other dysfunctional behaviours which would drive them into criminal conduct such as rape and other crimes.
He further advised parents to be more discreet in their sexual activities to avoid children seeing and emulating their actions before they are ready to get into relations.
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Mangena also expressed concern on escalating drug abuse.
“Drugs destroy the brain and private parts and make children criminals who terrorise, steal and commit other crimes to fuel their habit. Assist those in distress to seek Sanca’s help.”
Daisy Maimela of the Department of Social Development urged for increased publicity and vigilance against child and women trafficking into prostitution rings.
“Kids disappear daily and only few perpetrators are arrested. Anybody can be kidnapped and yet parents seem not to care. The State needs to scale up safety campaigns,” Maimela said.
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Maimela also urged children to use cellphones which they all seem to have to learn about the trafficking and sexual abuse to avoid being targets and encouraged neighbours to care for each other’s children in sync with the event’s theme, ‘My child is your child’.
Details: Constable Iddah Matheba 011 439 7718/9.
Edited by Stacey Woensdregt
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