4.1 Overall Findings
Children are our most valuable resource for the future of our country and we need to ensure that they are given the best care, attention, protection and love in order to ensure that the future of the country is in the hands of responsible and caring adults. This message of how precious and vulnerable our children are was brought home to the Task Group when it heard direct evidence from abused children. The Task Group was very moved and touched by the openness and strength of these children who had the courage to share their feelings at the hearings. The Task Group wishes to express its deepest gratitude to these children.
The Task Group is of the opinion that any efforts aimed at addressing the levels of violence in South African society must take cognisance of the conditions under which large numbers of people in South Africa live. The social disintegration that results from the legacy of Apartheid contributes to a situation where violence becomes a means of exerting and asserting power. A situation of poverty very often renders not only the child survivor powerless, but also those persons who must protect the child.
The vision that South Africa has for its children is that they will live in a society in which they can achieve their full potential by growing up in a secure, stable and loving environment where they have the opportunity to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially and spiritually. The rights enshrined in the South African Constitution, and as set out in international instruments such as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child must form the basis on which this vision is transformed into a reality. In terms of these instruments, both national and international, each child has the right to parental or family care, to grow up within the context of that family and his or her community, and to be protected against maltreatment, abuse, neglect and degradation.
South Africa has in many respects made significant advances in establishing the beginning of a rights-based culture through the passing of crucial legislation that addresses the State's responsibility to give effect to the Constitutional rights. The establishment of a jurisprudence that speaks directly to the manner in which individuals are able to demand certain rights from the State, has been seen as a very important achievement for such a young democracy. However, the social reality that millions of South Africans face daily, and the reality that children are the most vulnerable under circumstances of social deprivation, severely impedes the realisation of those rights.
Government must therefore concentrate its efforts to enhance people's developmental capacity by creating an environment where individuals are able to work, to participate in community life and to protect the families they form part of. Despite very real progress made in relation to improving people's material conditions and thereby strengthening children's developmental opportunities, every year thousands of children still experience emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
The Task Group has heard the concern, comments and recommendations of a broad number of individuals, organisations of civil society, as well as certain government departments. It has considered all the submissions presented to it, and makes the following findings and recommendations by way of conclusion:
- Sexual abuse of children knows no boundaries of social class, race or gender.
- Conditions of abject poverty and social disintegration make children especially vulnerable to sexual abuse.
- There are serious challenges in the way Government supports services and programmes aimed at preventing sexual abuse of children or protecting them from secondary abuse. The biggest weakness relates to the absence of an integrated approach to sexual abuse: there is no single understanding of the nature of sexual abuse, its effect on children or the needs of child survivors. As a result, government departments do not collaborate effectively and efficiently. While this situation often causes secondary abuse, it is also an inappropriate manner for South Africa to spend its resources.
- Legislation aimed at protecting children and empowering those charged with protecting children needs urgent improvement.
- Certain policies developed in partnership with civil society are not being effectively implemented.
- Law enforcement agencies are not always appropriately trained to deal with child survivors of sexual abuse, and where trained staff work in specialised units, they are under-resourced.
- Certain levels of the criminal justice system do not take the needs of the survivor into account, which results in secondary abuse.
- The child and family welfare services provided by Government are under-resourced, which leads to serous limitations in the scope of services provided and the ability of professionals in government services to cope adequately with the workload expected of them.
This also leads to an over-emphasis on curative interventions in respect of vulnerable families and children at risk of abuse, and few resources being available for preventing abuse.
- The child and family welfare services provided by civil society organisations are also seriously under-resourced, which makes it extremely difficult for service organisations to attract appropriately trained professionals to these organisations, and for organisations to focus on preventative programmes.
- In view of the fact that significant numbers of civil society organisations are not effectively rooted in the communities they are meant to serve, the limited resources available for preventative services to children and families are not are not being applied appropriately.
- There is a need for increased public awareness of children's rights as well as the responsibility of each individual to promote and protect those rights, for example, by reporting sexual abuse of children.
4.2 Overall Recommendations
The Task Group recommends -
- that the question of sexual abuse of children be approached in an integrated, comprehensive and holistic manner to ensure that preventative programmes can make an impact on the incidence of sexual abuse in South Africa. This should ensure that the protection and care offered to survivors of sexual abuse is responsive to the full impact of the abuse on the survivor.
- that all programmes aimed at preventing abuse take due cognisance of the material conditions that impact on the prevalence of sexual abuse, and that such programmes are linked to integrated development strategies already in place.
- that the responsibilities that different government agencies have with regard to both prevention of sexual abuse and the protection and treatment of survivors of abuse be spelt out in legislation, where appropriate.
- that Government strengthen partnerships with civil society organisations involved in prevention of sexual abuse and the protection and treatment of survivors of abuse in order to ensure that there is a common understanding of the approach to the protection of children in South Africa.
- that Government commit adequate resources for the implementation of legislation and policy aimed at preventing abuse and protecting children, and that the crucial role of civil society organisations in the areas of both prevention and protection be recognised and supported.
- that sustained awareness campaigns be used to make the public aware of available services aimed at the prevention of abuse and the protection of children through.
- that the relevant government departments ensure that awareness campaigns are aimed at enabling individuals and communities to assist in preventing abuse through early warning signs, to respond to reports of abuse and to access services in this regard.
- that educators be workshopped and trained on the children's rights set out in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to raise awareness of these rights among children. This would fulfil some of South Africa's obligations in terms of these treaties to publicise as widely as possible the rights contained therein.
- that policy and legislation be reviewed in accordance with international children's rights instruments ratified by South Africa.
- that the outcome of the public hearings held by the Task Group be publicised and be made available as widely as possible. The Task Group undertakes to make a copy of this Report available to each government department for consideration and implementation of the recommendations contained therein.
- that the official text of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as any other international children's rights instrument that is or becomes binding on South Africa be published in the Government Gazette in order to create an official point of reference.
- that the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child be translated into easily accessible language and be distributed to all schools and public offices throughout the country in order to raise public awareness of children's rights and to fulfil part of South Africa's obligation under the Charter.
- that the relevant Parliamentary Committees follow up and monitor the implementation of the recommendations made to the various government departments. For this purpose it is suggested that these committees invite the departments concerned to brief them on progress made in realising the recommendations not later than six months after the adoption of this Report and that each of these committees report to the National Assembly not later than 12 months after the adoption of this Report.