As National Child Protection Week remains in full swing, the office of the Western Cape Commissioner for Children is ramping up efforts to ensure that the voices and lived experiences of children shape provincial safety interventions.
The week is observed annually to shine a spotlight on children’s rights and the urgent need to protect every child from abuse, neglect and exploitation, as enshrined in South Africa’s Constitution and the Children’s Act.
This year’s theme is “Working together in ending violence against children.”
Children’s Voices Matter
With thousands of children across the province facing threats which include violence, abuse, neglect, bullying and gang activity, commissioner Sarah Roberts is calling for stronger collaboration between government, communities and civil society to create safer environments where every child can thrive.
Roberts said protecting children is a shared responsibility, and the voices of children must remain central in all “decisions and interventions” that affect their lives.
“Recent statistics presented to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament in September last year, on child murders and children in the Child Protection System paint a sobering picture. These numbers are overwhelming, particularly when we remember that each statistic represents a young life.”
She adds that emotional abuse and neglect are the key reasons why children find themselves in the Child Protection System.
“In our eagerness to protect children, we must remember to include their voices in the conversation. Instead of designing protection services solely for children, we should engage with them directly and ask what makes them feel safe. Ultimately, before children can experience safety, they must first feel it.”
Roberts said through ongoing oversight visits, community dialogues, research initiatives, and child participation platforms, her office continues to monitor the extent to which children’s constitutional rights are being realised and protected across the Western Cape.
Safer Schools
According to Roberts, her office is part of the Provincial Joint Priority Committee on School Safety, which identifies high-risk schools, particularly in gang-affected areas, to help protect vulnerable children.
Information gathered through these initiatives is used to guide the Western Cape Commissioner for Children’s Community Child Rights Workshops across the province.
Roberts said she continues the unannounced visits to Level 2 Child and Youth Care Centres, which were initiated in December last year in the Metro-North, followed by visits to the Eden Karoo Municipality in February.
Through visits to Child and Youth Care Centres, Roberts gains insight into the living conditions and challenges faced by children, caregivers and facility managers in both urban and rural areas.
The visits have revealed similar operational challenges across centres, prompting ongoing engagement with the Department of Social Development to address issues and improve care, service quality and accountability.
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