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Violence towards children is a sign of ‘abandonment of social responsibility'

Violence towards children is a sign of ‘abandonment of social responsibility'

The Herald04-06-2025
The growing number of incidents of violence towards children, including by their mothers, has sparked a call for a 'human-centred approach' in society.
Puleng Phaka, second deputy president of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), advocated for 'capitalism's profit-before-people system' to be dismantled in favour of a system that ensured 'economic fairness and human dignity'.
Numsa denounced 'the commodification of human life, the normalisation of suffering, and the abandonment of social responsibility.'
Referencing data that showed 315 children were killed in the second quarter of last year, an increase of 7.5% compared to the same period the year before, Phaka said 'a society driven by greed, exploitation, and economic exclusion creates desperate conditions where violence festers'.
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