The progress of child protection in South Africa

Abstract

Child abuse in South Africa is a serious and escalating problem. In this article, the writer reflects on the response of the South African government and civil society organisations to the problems experienced by practitioners in their management of child abuse during the past decade. This response must be understood within the context of South Africa's transition from a past characterised by state‐enforced discrimination, exclusion and inequity. The article focuses on the child protection service system and draws attention to a review conducted in the nine provincial departments of social development across the country. It discusses the recommendations of the review in light of international literature on child welfare and lessons learnt over the past ten years. Despite the progress in policy formulation, implementation remains a major problem regarding child protection in South Africa.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FAMILY PRESERVATION SERVICES: PERSPECTIVES OF SOCIAL WORKERS AT NGOs

“…The delivery of effective services is affected, because this pattern is repeated by new social workers who fill the vacant posts (Department of Social Development, 2005:24). September (2006) duly remarked that it was essential for NGOs involved in the rendering of child and family welfare services to be supplied with appropriate resources, based on a standardised national funding policy. In this way these organisations will be enabled to deliver the critical services which government organisations alone are unable to deliver.…”

Management of physical child abuse in South Africa: literature review and children’s hospital data analysis

“…Since the end of apartheid, South Africa has come a long way with the development of a child protection service, but there is still a long way to go. 21 A central system to which all the different state departments and private welfare agencies are connected and a standard protocol for all agencies appears to be lacking.…”

“…For example, areas with high levels of poverty, underdevelopment, mobility, unemployment, high population density and crime are risk factors for becoming a victim or perpetrator. 21,[68][69][70] Poverty has been shown to be strongly associated with child corporal punishment. Children in communities with fewer resources and a higher crime and unemployment rate are at greater risk of physical abuse.…”

Adversities in childhood and adult psychopathology in the South Africa Stress and Health Study: Associations with first-onset DSM-IV disorders

“…The 2007 South African General Household Survey indicates the persistence of harmful conditions for many children (age 0 to 17 years): 68% lived in households below the poverty line (monthly per capita income below R350, adjusted for inflation since 2000); 38% lived in households without any working adults; only 35% resided with both biological parents, and 22% did not reside with either biological parent (Statistics South Africa, 2008; University of Cape Town Children's Institute, 2009). Other data indicate that intimate partner violence (S. L. Williams, Williams, Stein, Seedat, Jackson, & Moomal, 2007) is prevalent, and that child abuse is a wide-spread problem (September, 2006). These statistics emphasize that adversities permeate the lives of many children in contemporary South Africa; therefore, an understanding of the long-term risks associated with CAs within this context is important.…”