June 16, a day to remember

On the eve of the Day of the African Child, Save the Children acknowledges the significant role children played in bringing about change in South Africa.  “As we observe June 16, we also need to note that there are still major problems facing children and until these are addressed, children will never really benefit from the changes brought by 1976 sacrifice”…. Violence against children 35 years ago was seen as a turning point in the history of this country and yet today children are still experiencing violence, poor education, discrimination and poverty among other things.

Save the Children (SC) and its partners are addressing some of the challenges and are finding ways to make the country a safer place for children to live. Alone they cannot succeed but are urging all South Africans to play a part in ensuring that children are protected from harm.

SC’s child protection work aims to prevent, respond and resolve the abuse, neglect and exploitation and violence experienced in all settings and to strengthen the capacity of a variety of actors to protect children and develop systems and mechanisms that provide meaningful protection for all children in the longer term.

Save the Children’s vision is that of a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation. The organisation’s mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting improvements to their lives. As a key player in this sector, Save the Children works with a number of partners who share the same sentiments.  

Cape Town based RAPCAN (Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect) views prevention as the most significant strategy for effective child protection. The Children’s Act 38 of 2005 supports legal expression of a prevention model towards child protection.  The challenge over the next few years is to ensure that the government departments working with children, transform a largely protectionist approach towards a prevention model.

                                                                                                                           

UCARC (Umthatha Child Abuse Resource Centre) argues that all children have a right to be protected and cared for, working together is the only way to achieve this including: parents, caregivers, all community members, community leaders (traditional, political and religious), and all local, district, provincial and national government officials, only then will children develop into healthy adults who will contribute positively to society.

The Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria protects South African children by holding duty bearers to account, ensuring that they deliver on their promises to children that have been set out in law and policy. Children’s rights to safety, care, respect and dignity must be matched by fulfilment of their socio-economic rights.

The UN Report on the Study of violence against children (August 2006) states that “No violence against children is justifiable; all violence against children is preventable”. The same in-depth study confirms that such violence exists in every country of the world, cutting across culture, class, education, income and ethnic origin. In every region, in contradiction to human rights obligations and children’s developmental needs, violence against children is socially approved, and is frequently legal and State-authorized.

Save the Children is encouraging all South Africans to respect the rights of children and to ensure that their views and aspirations are heard and respected.

Child Safeguarding Protocol

Save the Children staff Nikiwe, Deidre and Noma, are in the Eastern Cape visiting Umthatha Child Abuse Resource Centre (UCARC) for two days. UCARC actively promotes and advocates for the rights of children including the right to protection.

In the meeting, Deidre introduced and described the Child Safeguarding Protocol as the policies and procedures that Save the Children and its partners are required to apply and monitor to protect children. Non compliance with this protocol can have dire consequences including cancellation of contract with partners.


The protocol applies to a number of people and institutions including the following: Save the Children staff, partner organizations, representatives, donors, journalists. The protocol applies in the work place and at home.

The commitment to the protocol includes: ensuring awareness of the protocol by all affected, preventing risk to children, reporting steps where concerns arise regarding the abuse and exploitation of children and actions to be taken when responding. The protocol encourages the staff of Save the Children, partners and others affected by the protocol to understand the issues and be able to respond.

If partners can adopt the protocol and encourage staff to commit to it, this will strengthen the organizations in addressing problems when they come up.

Children participating in media



In February 2011 Save the Children launched a programme called ‘Children and the Media’. The objective of the project is to ensure that children in South Africa and Zambia are empowered to influence duty bearers to fulfill children’s rights taking children’s opinions into account.


This is a three year project funded by the European Commission and Sida. It will be implemented in partnership with Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) based in South Africa and Media Network on Child Rights Development (MNCRD) based in Zambia.

The project will involve at least 600 children in both countries. The main focus of the project will be: 

• The development of ethical guidelines for reporting on children. Journalists in the two countries will be trained on the use of the tool and at least 25 media houses will be encouraged to adopt the guidelines.
• Establishment of the Children’s News Agency. Children in both countries will be trained and will operate as child journalists. Articles will be sent to the mainstream media for publishing.
• Child Media Monitors. Children will monitor the output of the 25 media houses using the ethical guidelines and the journalists who have been trained. The results of the monitoring will be shared with concerned editors.

Save the Children Sweden and SIDA sign an agreement in Windhoek

Save the Children Sweden (SCS) and SIDA recently signed an agreement that will see two civil society organisations in Namibia participate in legislative reform. The focus of the two year project is the Child Care and Protection Bill that is currently under review in Namibia. The project aims at increasing awareness among parliamentarians, the judiciary, government officials as well as children and their caregivers of the Child Care and Protection Act of Namibia with a specific focus on four regions.

Save the Children Sweden will work with two Namibian civil society organisations, Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) and Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (OYO), to implement the project. LAC is a national organisation promoting human rights in Namibia with a focus on information and advice, litigation, education and training, research and law reform and advocacy. SCS will also work with OYO, who delivers a range of programmes using information, education and communication (IEC) resources created by and for young people, including the OYO magazine, OYO Regional and National Drama Tours and OYO DVDs. Save the Children Sweden will provide technical and financial support to these organisations to implement the activities.

The project will first undertake advocacy and awareness raising events in order to promote the passage of the Bill. There will be also training conducted with magistrates to ensure their understanding of the Bill and source their input. The project will also engage with in and out of school children, teachers and caregivers to ensure that these children have the information necessary to claim their rights.

In implementing the project, the partners will not cover all aspects of the very comprehensive Child Care and Protection Act, but rather focus on a number of key provisions in the Act. It is envisaged that the project will yield the following results:

·         The Child Care and Protection Act is passed in Parliament during 2011

·         At least 50 magistrates understand the content of the Child Care and Protection Act and its implications on their duties

·         At least 10,000 children in Khomas, Kunene and Erongo have the information necessary to claim their rights as stipulated in the Child Care and Protection Act

·         LAC and OYO engage with civil society organisations regionally in order to share lessons learnt and best practices

The two year project in Namibia will also provide an opportunity for Save the Children Sweden, OYO and LAC to meet twice a year to assess progress against objectives and results, reflect on lessons learned and good practices and to develop a joint strategy for how to take the project further in 2013 and beyond

Background

As one strategy to address children’s rights in Namibia, the government is strengthening the legal framework for the protection of children by finalizing the Child Care and Protection Bill. The Bill contains a wide range of provisions to protect and promote the well-being of children, including early intervention services, procedures for removing endangered children from the home, foster care, adoption, child trafficking, child headed households and children’s courts. When adopted, the Bill will provide a more comprehensive framework for child protection in Namibia. It is also anticipated that the government will then develop regulations to further define the framework for its implementation.