Child Protection Week is an annual national campaign initiated by the Department of Social Development and civil society organisations to mobilise individuals and organisations to play their part in building a caring society that protects and promotes the rights of children as enshrined in the country’s Constitution.
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This year’s campaign, under the theme Let Us All Protect Children During Covid-19 and Beyond, was focused on prioritising the safety and well-being of children, particularly during the global pandemic that has dramatically disrupted children’s lives.
The campaign aimed to create awareness of the risks children face and implored families and communities to take a stand against any form of child abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Research shows that the risks of child abuse, neglect and exploitation are heightened during a crisis.
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To conclude this year’s campaign, the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, on June 7 visited the Polokong Child and Youth Care Centre in Gauteng.
Polokong, which means safe space, is a child and youth care centre that provides residential care and therapeutic and development programmes for children in need of care in terms of the Children’s Act.
Zulu also used the last day of this year’s campaign to assess services to children in line with level three of the Covid-19 Risk-Adjusted Strategy and the centre’s state of readiness as
Grade Seven and 12 learners returned to school this week.
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Child Protection Week was launched in 1998.
The campaign highlights the important role that families and communities play in protecting children against abuse, neglect and exploitation.
As part of the national activities for Child Protection Week, the Department of Social Development will, in partnership with Unicef and the University of South Africa (Unisa), host a webinar focusing on online safety for children, including how to prevent online bullying, harassment and internet-initiated sex crimes against children.
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