The Coalition has released a study ahead of Child Protection Week that looks at child abandonment and adoption in the context of African ancestral beliefs in contemporary urban South Africa.
The National Child Protection Week (CPW) is commemorated in South Africa annually and raises awareness on the rights of children as voiced out in the Children’s Act of 2005. This year the campaign will run from May 27 to June 2.
The campaign began in 1997 and aims to mobilise all sectors of society to ensure the care and protection of children.
Children need to be protected from various forms of abuse, maltreatment, neglect, abandonment and degradation.
The research conducted by Nacsa, has found that both child abandonment and the decline in adoption are influenced by indigenous African ancestral beliefs.
Dee Blackie, the consultant to Nacsa, who undertook the study, says that some mothers and community members believe that, in the eyes of their ancestors, to abandon a child is better than formally relinquishing their rights as parents so that the child can be adopted.
The study also points out that in Contemporary South Africa, the number of challenges associated with child abandonment also include restrictive legislation, high levels of poverty, mass urbanisation and migrant labour, high levels of violence, especially rape, gender inequality and diminishing family support.
The South African adoption community including the Department of Social Development joined hands in 2011 to form the National Adoption Coalition, which is a mandated and unified structure that promotes and builds awareness of adoption, and builds partnerships and collaboration across the adoption community.
According to Pam Wilson, spokesperson for Nacsa, it is crucial to get to the heart of cultural and ancestral beliefs in order to address and understand the reasons behind high levels of abandonment and declining adoptions.
“During Child Protection Week 2014, Nacsa will focus on the insights revealed from the research and use this as a basis to inform its actions going forward around the plight of South Africa’s adoptable children, and provide accurate process information to birth and prospective adoptive parents, particularly around the issues of ancestry and cultural beliefs in South Africa,” says Wilson.
The government has urged everyone to wear a green ribbon during Child Protection Week to show support for the promotion of the rights, care and protection of children.
