#ChildProtectionWeek: Child abandoment stats need to decrease

The country continues to see an increase in incidents of child abandonment, abuse, neglect and murder.

Over the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children in November last year, an intensive campaign, #BabiesMatter, run by veteran child protection activist Luke Lamprecht, ‘provoked the conclusion that not all babies do matter’. Perhaps the most significant questions are ‘why’ and ‘what do countless births not celebrated, and deaths not mourned’, say about us as a society?

Child abandonment continues to be a major challenge in South Africa:

• It is estimated that about 3500 children are abandoned annually in SA, about 300 per month and the figure only includes survivors.
• Figures compiled in Gauteng show that for every abandoned child found alive, two are found dead.
• A recent Medical Research Council study on child homicide reveals that children in South Africa are at the highest risk of unnatural deaths in the first six days of life.
• Research shows that 65 per cent of abandoned children are newborns, and 90 per cent are under the age of one.
• Many abandoned babies have already survived a late-term abortion. 52 to 58 per cent of SA abortions are illegal (up to
  150 000 per year).
• 70 per cent of abandonments are unsafe and many babies are never found.

A number of legislative challenges serve to increase rather than decrease child abandonment in SA. Girls under the age of 18 can consent to an abortion but still need parental consent to place a child for adoption. On the other hand, foreigners fear deportation if they try to place a child for adoption and others lack the formal documentation required to place their children into the child protection system.

Studies show that abandonment mostly results from desperation due to poverty and unemployment, a breakdown of the family often due to mass urbanisation, HIV/Aids, and cultural beliefs and concerns regarding adoption.

What can be done?

• Lowering the age of consent for adoption placement.
• Facilitating safe abandonment through implementing safe haven laws.
• Revising xenophobic policies regarding foreigners and barriers to adoption.
• Policing of illegal abortion practitioners.
• Conducting quantitative research to understand the scope of the problem.
• Listing abandonment in crime and mortuary statistics to quantify the problem.
• Enlisting pregnancy initiatives to support vulnerable women.

The National Adoption Coalition of South Africa is a non-government organisation that represents the child protection community, including social workers, crisis pregnancy homes, child and youth care centres, places of safety and adoption. Its vision is to unify and empower communities and society, to create positive and permanent change in the lives of children.

Details: www.crisispregnancy.org.za / www.adoptioncoalitionsa.org

Chat with us about any issues related to Child Protection Week via our Facebook page at Rosebank Killarney Gazette.