South African Constitution’s Bill of Rights provides children the right to care and protection, yet thousands of children experience abuse daily.
The Gender and Health Research Unit of the South African Medical Research Council completed a national study on child homicides in 2009 which revealed some shocking findings on the magnitude of child homicide and deaths related to child abuse and neglect.
These findings consequentially send a shiver down ones spine and leave a question in mind, where are we now? Is the number escalating by day? And most importantly, what are we doing to stop these terrible acts? In few weeks to come the country will be commemorating Child Protection Week. A week aimed at raising awareness of the right of the children. As parents, workers, teachers, churches, civil society and ordinary members of respective communities this is a wake up call to uphold and live by our constitution by protecting our children from all forms of violence, exploitation and abuse.
Despite the country’s progressive child protection laws, policies, programmes and projects, prevention and addressing the calamitous challenge of violence against children remains. We are all called to walk the talk by ensuring that children rights are protected, even if is not your own child. A multi-disciplinary approach is needed to ensure that the bleak picture changes for the better. When the government spear head the Child Protection campaign for a week, it is only to heighten awareness of a 365 days program. It is upon organizations, private sector, civil society groups, church, individuals and communities at large to collectively take it in their strides to protect this vulnerable group daily.
As the late former statesman of South Africa Nelson Mandela, “Safety and security don’t just happen; they are a result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear. There can never be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children”. As individual what role did you play to ensure that a child is protected from any form of abuse? This not only apply to a child you related to, have you gone an extra mile to protect the right of a child?
Let us go back to basics “to raise an African child with the right cognitive mind needs a safe and secure environment from all of us”
Busi Kheswa, Gauteng Community Safety
