6 days ago
Healing beyond medicine: The role of the Children's Hospital Trust in child protection
In the first 22 months after the launch of the Children's Hospital Trust's Child Protection Project, 566 child protection cases were reported. Behind hospital doors lie many untold stories, including the experiences of children and families who have witnessed or suffered various forms of abuse—be it sexual, physical, psychological, neglect, malnutrition, or violence.
Children often lack a voice in these situations and bear the brunt of crime, poverty, environmental degradation, gang violence, and domestic disputes. Their rights are being violated, and society has failed to protect them. In recognition of Child Protection Week (May 29 – June 5), the Children's Hospital Trust is shining a spotlight on the urgent need to safeguard our children, not just from abuse but also from the systemic failures that violate their rights.
Dr Fatima Khan, the Child Protection Improvement Project Coordinator at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, stated, 'We are seeing just the tip of the iceberg. We don't see the children who are fatally injured or those grazed by a bullet or who have witnessed a family member killed and must live with the psychological impact of that.'
As the only specialist paediatric hospital in the Western Cape, the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital treats many of the most affected children. Each child enters the hospital seeking medical treatment, but for victims of abuse, neglect, or violence, healing involves addressing far deeper internal wounds. This includes children who have no family to return to, those suffering from flashbacks that leave them paralysed with fear, and mothers who blame themselves for their children's suffering.
