Protecting our children: A call to honour our commitment to future generations

Daily Maverick

2 days ago

In May each year, South Africa pauses to reflect on one of its most urgent responsibilities: protecting its children. While many countries mark a day or a week focused on children's rights, South Africa is among the few with a dedicated Child Protection Month — a national effort that signals deep political and moral commitment.
That commitment is rooted in the legacy of former president Nelson Mandela, whose words continue to echo: 'There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.'
The 16th of June 2025, commemorated as Youth Day in this country, and the Day of the African Child continentally, will mark 30 years since South Africa ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Adopted in 1989, the convention is the most ratified human rights treaty in the world and was the first international human rights treaty ratified by South Africa under its new democratic government.
And yet, despite this legacy, thousands of children in South Africa continue to face violence, exploitation and neglect. Child Protection Month is not simply a calendar event — it is a national moment to ask whether we are living up to the promise made to the children of this country.
The numbers tell a grim story
According to the Child Series Volume III Reported Crime Against Children by Statistics South Africa, that promise remains unfulfilled, with rape, assault and child abuse routinely high in the list of crimes reported against children.
In the 2022/23 period alone, 64,533 children were victims of crime in South Africa, and each day three children are killed, 28 children are violently attacked, and 58 children are sexually violated.
While the president has rightfully declared gender-based violence a pandemic, it is worth noting that child victims account for nearly 40% of the more than 21,000 sexual offences reported in South Africa in 2022/23.
This is a staggering proportion, considering that children make up just over a third of the population.
Given the high levels of violence against children in South Africa, it is unsurprising that this same violence resurfaces a generation later as the legacy of trauma perpetuates more harm. Both global and national data tell us that girls exposed to violence are more likely to be victims of inter-personal violence, and similarly, boys exposed to violence are more likely to become perpetuators of violence. Child Protection Week is an opportunity to amplify calls for this cycle of violence to stop.
Government has responded but systemic barriers persist
In recent months the government, led by the departments of Social Development and Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, has escalated its response by establishing a dedicated gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) Priority Committee within the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints).
Through a 90-day acceleration programme to address GBVF, national departments have committed to fast-track the implementation of prevention and response services across all nine provinces. The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) views this as a critical step in the right direction. But as the statistics show, these strong commitments need to translate into sustained, systemic change that lasts well beyond the allotted 90 days.
Knowing how much is actually spent on preventing and responding to violence against children is a persistent issue, as budgeting for child protection is scattered across departments and seldom tracked. Moreover, at district and municipal levels — where services are closest to families — violence prevention is still not prioritised in integrated development plans.
On the ground, many social workers are overstretched and tasked with statutory child removal cases, with little capacity for preventive or restorative interventions. Crucially, children themselves remain excluded from decision-making processes that directly affect their safety and dignity.
From crisis to commitment
To achieve the promise of safety and care for every child, Unicef proposes three urgent policy actions:
Establish a dedicated public budget line for violence prevention across national and provincial departments, with regular public reporting on expenditure specific to children.
Mandate the integration of child protection as a priority — including violence prevention — into district and municipal integrated development plans, with performance targets and ringfenced funding.
Institutionalise child participation in policy development, programme design, and monitoring — in particular within the National Strategic Plan for GBVF — to ensure that children's realities and voices shape the systems meant to protect them.
We know that violence against children is both preventable and necessary for the fostering of a healthy, happy society. Effective prevention requires moving beyond short-term responses to a focus on innovation, stronger coordination and meaningful systemic change.
If South Africa is to fully honour its commitment to children — as enshrined in its globally admired Constitution and in the vision of a post-apartheid, democratic society — then we must go beyond the talk.
Child Protection Month must leave a tangible legacy – a shift from crisis response to systemic prevention, lives safeguarded, futures restored and children truly heard. DM