Programme director;
Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Ms Lulu Xingwana;
Premier of Gauteng, Mme Nomvula Mokonyane;
MEC for Health and Social Development, Mme Ntombi Mekgwe;
Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Mr Parks Tau;
UNICEF representative, Ms Aida Girma;
Representatives of Government and Civil Society Organisations;
Members of the Board and officials of Abraham Kriel childcare;
Ladies and gentlemen of the media;
Thank you for joining us on the launch of this year’s Child Protection Week under the theme “Working Together to Protect Children”. I wish to extend a warm welcome to my colleagues who join me at this launch and I thank them all for being here this morning. I am also pleased to welcome the new United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative, Ms Aida Girma. I also thank the Board and management of Abraham Kriel Childcare for hosting us this morning.
Protecting our children is a collective responsibility and our presence here attests to our joint commitment to work together in securing a better future for our country by investing in the well-being of children.
Ladies and gentlemen, Child Protection Week (CPW) provides us with the opportunity to ensure that children are able to exercise their constitutional rights and that their young lives are filled with love, peace, care and prosperity. The activities that will take place throughout the country this week, seek to raise awareness about the fact that there are still too many children who are abused, neglected and exploited. We should use the time to reflect on what we, as government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector can do to better the lives of orphans and vulnerable children, children living in poverty, children with disabilities, those in conflict with law and children living and working on the street.
I think we all know the scale of the problem. Let us use this week to discuss what it is that we need to improve in relation to our services to children. If children qualify for social grants then let’s ensure that we remove the barriers that may be keeping many eligible children out of the system. We have stated how important Early Childhood Development (ECD) is for the development of our children, so let us use this week to assess what is that we need to do to broaden access to quality ECD services for our children, including those in rural areas.
This includes practical discussions in national and provincial governments on how we overcome the bureaucratic inertia that so often relegate reports on important programmes to “plans in progress”. It is time for us to put our plans into action and if this requires partnerships with NGOs and the private sector let us go and build these partnerships. I am sure that collectively we agree that the wellbeing of South Africa’s children is everyone’s responsibility but, organising everybody to do this is the responsibility of government and we need to do this better.
I will be asking all stakeholders this week to reflect on what it is that they are going to do, practically, to ensure that next year this time, the quality of the services we provide to children would be greatly improved.
As government we should be working flat out to ensure that the socio-economic rights of children as enshrined in our constitution and other international instruments, including the right to education, health, care and support become a reality as a matter of top priority.
The Child Protection Week campaign, represented by the Green Ribbon is therefore a call to action so that all government departments, NGOs and private sector partners dedicate themselves to improving services. During this week, we also wish to engage with the general public about the importance of protecting children in our communities. We all need to ensure that no children in our households, schools, communities are abused or subjected to neglect and exploitation.
This call to action includes the fact that we urgently need more foster care parents and adoptive parents to provide safe and loving homes for the growing number of orphans and vulnerable children, some of which are unable to live with their own families.
The Register on Adoptable Children and Prospective Parents (RACAP) shows that there are currently 244 adoptable children and 260 prospective adoptive parents. Statistics also show that 512 763 children are in foster care and their primary caregivers receive the Foster Care Grant.
As part of the Child Protection Week, we will conduct public awareness activities to popularise the new Adoption Strategy. I would like to take this opportunity to urge anyone thinking about taking that first step to adopt or foster a child to visit their local social workers or welfare organisations to find out more about what the process entails. We encourage individuals and families to think about the great rewards that fostering or adopting a child can bring.
Media coverage of recent sexual abuse against South African children such as the appalling and the outrageous alleged rape scandal of a 16 year old by two police officers have provoked emotive responses from the South African public. However, it is highly unfortunate that such cases are not exposed as often as they occur as most victims never tell of their traumatic experiences.
Child abuse is surrounded by shame, fear, ignorance and denial. It is high time that it gets exposed and preventative action is taken. It is for this reason that we call on all South African to join the campaign to protect our children. The Child Protection Register (CPR) serves as a centralised data-collection system for child abuse, neglect and exploitation. As at the end of March this year, a total of 1 173 of child abuse, neglect and exploitation were captured on CPR.
The CPR is not just a means of recording information but an important planning tool for prevention of child abuse, neglect and exploitation. We are currently working with the provincial departments to ensure that all reported cases are captured on the system.
Our government is also concerned about the rising levels of child sexual exploitation. While the information and communications technology is a useful tool, we need to be aware of the fact that it can be used by sexual predators to get access to children in new ways.
Internet child pornography is one of the fastest growing businesses. Sexual predators, pornographers and prostitution cartels are capitalising on the rising popularity of mobile sites such as Mxit, online chat rooms and social networks to victimise children. We need to make our children aware of the implicit dangers associated with smart phones and the internet, so that they are able to use these safely and to report any suspicious online activities to their care-givers or the police.
The Films and Publications Act compels South Africans to report anyone involved in the production, distribution or possession of child pornography.
All South Africans should therefore be active in the campaign to make South Africa safer for children. Aside from wearing the Green Ribbon, more people should join the Community Policing Forums, organise child protection activities at local community centres and importantly report suspected cases of child abuse, neglect and exploitation. It is important that we listen when children tell us that they have been abused or feel uncomfortable in the company of certain adults. Too often we let the abuse of children continue because as adults we tend to take the words of other adults over and above those of children.
We therefore want South Africans to get involved in child protection issues and to voice their opposition to the abuse of innocent children.
Our week-long campaign includes activities at both national and provincial levels. It also includes activities that will be conducted by civil society organisations. These include the launch of Early Childhood Development (ECD) awareness campaign, with special focus on rural and informal settlements. We want the best for our children. That means making sure they get the best possible start in life. And that's the goal of the national ECD awareness campaign - to make sure that children in our country develop the skills they need to succeed in their lives. The campaign will be launched on 1 June 2011 in Tweefontein, Kwa Mhlanga-Mpumalanga.
We will also launch the Strategy and Guidelines for Children Living and Working on the Streets on 6 June 2011 in Bloemfontein. In terms of Section 150 (1) of the Children’s Act, children living and working on the streets are regarded as children in need of care. On 1 June 2011, my colleague Minister Xingwana will release the finding of the study on child killings in South Africa.
Minister Xingwana will also launch the “Access to Education All Children Campaign”, which seeks to ensure that children access education. The Department of Correctional Services will focus on the roll out of the Imbeleko Project at Polsmoor Prison in the Western Cape Province on 2 June 2011. This project focuses on creating a humane, secure and friendly environment for the mother and child in correctional facilities.
As President Zuma mentioned during the State of Nation Address early this year, the strength of our state cannot be measured in Growth Domestic Product alone. The success of our state must also be measured by the well-being of our children. President Zuma also spoke of this government’s commitment to provide national leadership in reducing violence against women and children. We are working together with all levels of government and the community sector to make a difference.
Finally, I would like to thank all NGOs working with children, families and communities their continuing commitment to protect our children. I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of all social workers and volunteers throughout the country and to congratulate them on their hard work, not just in providing services to children but in their commitment and dedication in striving to improve the quality of life for our children.
I thank you.
Source: Department of Social Development
