Programme Director, Ms Emily Dhlamini
The Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Cllr Kgosientso Ramakgoba
Chief Magistrates of Pretoria, Mr Desmond Nair
Chief Family Advocate, Adv Petunia Seabi-Mathobe
Representatives from government and civil society
Residents of Soshanguve
Ladies and gentlemen
This past Tuesday our country lost one of its great struggle veterans, Mama Ruth Mompati.
Mama Ruth, as she was affectionately known, was one of the organisers of the historic Women’s March of 1956. She went into exile in 1962 and underwent military training in the Soviet Union before leading female members of the ANC's underground operation in Tanzania.
What struck me most when I was reading about her life, was what she said about the sacrifices families made during the struggle. On the issue of going into exile, she said - "They just came to tell me that they’re leaving the country. I said, ‘No, I can’t, I have three children’, and they said ‘So what? What about these other people who have been killed? How many children did they have?”
It makes one realise, yet again, how our country’s history tore families apart in different ways – there were migrant workers who worked far away from their families, there were families in which certain family members were classified as belonging to one race group and other family members belonging to another.
Families were broken apart when loved ones were killed or simply disappeared during the struggle. Many people, like Mama Ruth, had to leave their families behind when they went into exile or into underground structures.
The family is universally viewed as one of the essential sectors without which no society can function.
Research evidence from different parts of the world has shown that stable and supportive families are associated with several positive outcomes. These include higher levels of self-esteem, lower levels of anti-social behaviour such as crime, violence and substance abuse, higher levels of work productivity, lower levels of stress and more self-efficacy to deal with socioeconomic hardships. Stable families demonstrate high levels of social capital and resilience, and contribute to the smooth functioning of society and to social cohesion.
The International Day of Families is observed on the 15th of May every year. The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 and reflects the importance the international community attaches to families.
The International Day of Families has inspired a series of awareness-raising events, including national family days. In many countries, that day provides an opportunity to highlight different areas of interest and importance to families.
Internationally the 2015 observance of the International Day of Families aims to promote gender equality and rights of children within families. It will also highlight prevention of family violence through fair family law frameworks and a variety of programme interventions.
Our department has decided to celebrate the International Day of Families by creating an opportunity for the community to know more about the role of the office of The Family Advocate in protecting and promoting the rights of the children.
The office of the Family Advocate was established in 1990 through the promulgation of the Mediation in Certain Divorce Matters Act. This Act provides for mediation in divorce proceedings and seeks to safeguard the interests of children arising from such proceedings.
The role of the Family Advocate is to assist the courts in determining the best interests of minor children in civil legal disputes over parental responsibilities and rights.
Provision is also made in numerous sections in the Children’s Act to register a parental responsibilities and rights agreement with the Family Advocate or instances where a dispute must be referred to the office of the Family Advocate.
With regard to a maintenance enquiry and where circumstances permit, a maintenance court may at any time during an enquiry, cause an investigation to be carried out by the Family Advocate with regard to the welfare of any minor or dependent child affected by such a maintenance proceeding.
The Family Advocate always acts in the best interests of the child in disputed matters such as care (or custody), contact (or access) or guardianship issues. The Family Advocate assists parties in reaching an agreement regarding this and makes recommendations to the court.
Upon application by the parties, the Family Advocate institutes an inquiry during which the Family Advocate, assisted by a Family Counsellor (normally a trained social worker), interviews the parties to ascertain their personal circumstances and the background details to their matter. The Family Advocate then interviews the children to allow them the opportunity to be heard. This prevents the child from having to appear in Court.
It is important to note that the Family Advocate cannot become involved in any matter that has already been finalised by the Court and the Family Advocate cannot be subpoenaed to Court as a witness to give evidence on behalf of any party even if his or her recommendation is in favour of that party.
The recommendation of the Family Advocate is intended to assist the Court in adjudicating a matter and arriving at a particular order. The recommendation itself is not enforceable unless incorporated in a Court Order.
The Family Advocate is a neutral institution and cannot act as the legal representative for either litigant in a matter. There are many benefits to making use of the family Advocate, for example if the parties reach agreement on disputed issues the matter does not proceed to trial. This reduces costs and time.
The Family Advocate may also work in liaison with other professionals, such as social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists in assisting the family and to ascertain what is in the best interests of the child.
You may visit the Family Advocate when you have a divorce pending in Court, and have minor or dependent children whose subsequent custody, guardianship or access arrangements are in dispute.
There are other circumstances under which the Family Advocate may be consulted. These include any application for the variation of a custody, guardianship or access order, an application for the definition of access, a custody, access or guardianship dispute arising from the dissolution of a customary marriage, an application by an unwed father for custody, access or guardianship to his minor child or any other matter involving minor or dependent children, where the Court has specifically ordered the Family Advocate to intervene. The services of the Family Advocate are rendered to the public free of charge.
The Chief Family Advocate is also designated as the Central Authority to discharge duties which are imposed by the Hague Convention. The Convention is a multilateral treaty, which seeks to protect children from the harmful effects of abduction and retention across international boundaries by providing a procedure to bring about their prompt return.
International Child abductions have serious consequences for both the child and the parent who is left behind, in that the child is removed, not only from contact with the other parent, but also from his or her home environment and transplanted to a unfamiliar culture with which he or she may have had no prior ties. These consequences have a huge effect in jeopardising the best interest of the child.
In order to protect minor children the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has over the past 20 years been committed to ensuring the protection of children in our society.
One of the areas which have a profound impact on the lives of children is that of maintenance. The Maintenance Act provides the framework for monitoring and implementing maintenance orders. It provides for the handling of complaints received from persons seeking maintenance, who have experienced difficulties with the tracing of maintenance defaulters and the enforcement of maintenance orders.
In an effort to address the neglect of children and youth in society, the department has identified child maintenance as one of its key priorities. It receives more than 200 000 new applications annually which are tragically indicative of the growing trend of child neglect in our country.
Parents are jointly responsible to maintain their children, yet today the responsibility of financially maintaining children often rests on the shoulders of single mothers who in many instances do not receive the financial support from the biological father. These single mothers then face laborious court applications to bring these fathers to book.
The department’s maintenance programme was designed to minimise the time spent on queues, strengthen the investigation process used in tracing maintenance defaulters, and improve the payment system to ensure that rightful beneficiaries are paid on time. Many defaulters have been arrested and brought to court, resulting in hundreds of maintenance beneficiaries receiving regular pay-outs. The strategy has reduced the loopholes in the system and introduced tighter mechanisms to enforce payments.
The department is determined to reduce the turnaround time of maintenance payments by ensuring that garnishee payments are made directly to maintenance beneficiaries. These direct payments assist maintenance beneficiaries as the money is received directly from the garnishee, instead of waiting for funds to clear in court’s bank account. An electronic fund transfer system (EFT) was created so that beneficiaries have quick and safe access to the funds.
These are but some of the many initiatives that our department is undertaking to protect minor children and families. Families come in all shapes and sizes – from single parent families to child-headed families to large extended families. The 2011 Census 2011 data shows us that although the average South African household is still headed by a man, the number of women breadwinners is on the increase.
According to Stats SA, of the 15 million households counted in the 2011 Census about a third were so-called “traditional” families, in other words consisting of married parents and their children.
In terms of the trend in marital status, the national picture shows that cohabitation is increasing among those who are younger. Another trend is the increase in the number of households headed by single women - 14% of the population. Single fathers living with their children form 2% of the families counted and a quarter of South African households reported “other” family structures, which include grandmothers living with their grandchildren, gay couples, and child-headed households.
Ladies and gentlemen,
There is an African saying that a family tie is like a tree – it can bend, but it cannot break. Families are the building blocks of communities; they influence the way society is structured, organised, and functions. Let us use this International Day of Families to celebrate and acknowledge the role families play in our society.
I thank you.
