OPINION | Step up as a member of the village and protect children

Each year, SA commemorates Child Protection Week to create awareness around the rights of children. This year, from May 31 to June 7, the theme is “Let us all protect children during Covid-19 and beyond”.

Children's rights to education, basic nutrition, shelter, healthcare, social services and protection from abuse, neglect and exploitation are guarded by law. Yet the state has often fallen foul of its obligations to ensure the wellbeing of these most vulnerable members of society. We have seen it time and again in this province's schools, where children are still expected to learn in overcrowded classrooms and decrepit, dangerous buildings; in its rural areas where safe water sources are scarce, and in informal settlements where poverty is rife and children lack the most basic levels of care.

One of the biggest threats to the rights of children is violence. Stories of children being killed — some at the hands of loved ones — have dominated news headlines across the country in recent weeks. In a village in the Eastern Cape two weeks ago, three siblings died after eating chocolate laced with poison. Their father was arrested. Last week a teenage boy was shot dead by gangsters in Cape Town. He was standing around a fire with friends at the time. In Gauteng, a man has been accused of killing his son and niece, both left in his care by his wife.

These young victims are part of a long list of innocent lives cut short by violence and abuse. Violence against women and children is a scourge SA has been grappling with for many years. The state has prioritised its response to GBV, but the battle is far from being won.

The coronavirus lockdown, forcing families to be confined in the same space for a prolonged period, sparked fears of a surge in domestic violence. While the national statistics over the 10-week lockdown are not yet known, the Western Cape government said just over 280 cases of child abuse have been reported since March 27.

Protecting children does not rest solely on the state. Each and every citizen needs to make that decision to never turn a blind eye to abuse and injustice suffered by defenceless children. If we remain silent, we are failing them as nurturers. Let us never forget  the profound wisdom of that African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child”.