A child goes missing every five hours in South Africa.
This according to the latest statistics released by Missing Children South Africa.
In a summary of cases reported to them for the term 1 December 2013 to 30 November 2014 a total of 685 people went missing – 400 of them adults and 285 children. The positive is that 263 of adults and 219 children were found. This is an overall success rate of 70 per cent. For the children’s cases alone their success rate is 77 per cent.
The reasons children are reported missing in the following categories (see percentage for each category):
- Runaways 51 per cent
- Unknown 42 per cent
- Getting lost 3 per cent
- Parental abduction 3 per cent
- Stranger abductions 2 per cent
Explanations:
Run-Aways: Children run away from home, guardians, and places of safety for various reasons.
- Being abused;
- Escaping unwanted/undeserved circumstances;
- Conflict at home;
- Rebellion;
- Are being offered a better life, better circumstances by strangers or people they have befriended over a social network for instance. The grass seems greener on the other side and when they accept these offers, they sometimes find themselves in a very vulnerable and dangerous place.
Unknown: Cases reported to our organisation and the reason for the child being missing is not mentioned or is unknown. Sometimes the parents/family does not want to share more information and want to keep in confidential.
Getting Lost: Child is found without the parents, wandering around, walking by himself/herself and then brought to a place of safety and/or a police station. This happens when a child is playing outside without the necessary supervision, or being sent to the shop alone when he/she is only a toddler and cannot find his/her way back home.
Stranger Abduction: Child is taken from the parents/guardians care without their permission, by somebody not known by the family. People kidnap children for various reasons:
- Cannot have children of their own;
- Lost their own child
- Reason for revenge
- Financial benefit
- Human Trafficking (sex, drugs, etc.)
Parental Abductions: Parents are divorced or separated and the one parent takes the child without the permission from the other and disappears with him/her.
Family Abductions: Child is taken by a family member without the permission from the legal parent/guardians.
Missing Children SA made it clear in a statement “On a daily basis we are striving to make more and more people aware of the reality of Human Trafficking.”
According to the International Labour Organisation it is estimated that 1,2 million children are trafficked each year. Furthermore, 32 billion dollars profit is generated annually from Human Trafficking.
In a break-down of the the different ages of children reported to Missing Children SA the age group targeted the most is 13 to 18 year olds with 68 per cent followed by 7 to 12 year olds with 21 per cent and infants to six year olds with 11 per cent.
The months with the most cases reported were:
- December 2013 with 79 cases
- January 2014 with 68 cases
- October 2014 with 82 cases
The month with the least cases reported was July 2014 with only 44 cases.
Totals of individuals found deceased:
- Children – 4
- Adults – 27
The racial groups (in percentage) according to cases Missing Children SA have worked on and of which flyers were distributed (available on their website):
- Africans 39 per cent
- Coloured 27 per cent
- Caucasian 32 per cent
- Other (Indian, Asian) 3 per cent
About Missing Children SA
Missing Children SA, is a registered NPO and PBO that assists the authorities when an individual goes missing in South Africa, for any reason whatsoever. They work closely with the South African Police Service and other government bodies as well as other NGO’s and private initiatives, to assist in the recovery and safe return of any missing person.
Their first tier is that of an emergency response service. They have a national helpline for incident reports and callers are advised on which immediate steps to take in logging the incident officially so as to ensure efficient and timeous action. They also liaise with the investigating officers on the case so as to ensure a continuous flow of information between the parents and authorities.
Secondly, by activating a vast national social and media network we distribute flyers of missing children, creating mass awareness of the individual and maximising the chances of that child being recovered. Lastly, since prevention is the most efficient way to keep children safe, they strive to educate both parents or guardians and children on the dangers of abduction and human trafficking.
Their website www.missingchildren.org.za acts as an emergency report facility as well as being platform for informational and educational material with regards to child safety.
They have over 54 000 members on their Facebook page alone excluding the individual networks of their board members, volunteers and other affiliates which makes for incredibly efficient, instant mass distribution of flyers, within moments of an incident.
They are based in the Western Cape but operate on a national level and as such, are the most recognised, free community service for missing children and adults, in the country.
They provide their services free of charge to every and anyone who needs them. Sadly they don’t necessarily enjoy the same privilege for their needs and their financial requirements quite often outweigh their resources. They rely solely on the goodwill of individuals and corporations for financial support.
Some General Safety Tips:
- There is NO WAITING PERIOD for reporting a person missing to the nearest police station.
- Should you report a person to the police station and the police officer tells you to come back after 24 hours, demand to speak to the station commander. Or, alternatively, contact Missing Children SA and the organisation will intervene and assist wherever possible.
- When reporting a person missing to the police station, the following information will be required:
- Full name of missing person
- Age of missing person
- Description of missing person
- Eye colour
- Hair colour/style
- Height
- Weight
- Distinctive marks – scars/birthmarks
- Where was the person last seen
- Clothes the person was wearing
They have an informal document that serves as a guideline to parents about what will be needed by SAPS when a child goes missing. They call it the Interim ID Kit. It can be downloaded from their website or sent them an e-mail and they will be sure to send you an electronic copy.
Teach your children the basic safety tips, also available from their website.
Support them by tweeting the following: Support @072Missing Missing Children SA by adding them as 1 of your 3 MySchool beneficiaries and you could win a R500 Woolworths Gift Card!
For other ways to get involved, please visit www.missingchildren.org.za/involved.
To report a missing person, go to www.missingchildren.org.za/report.
