Hon House Chairperson, the ANC's abhorrence of violence against and the abuse of children is well recorded. Delegates at the 52nd National Conference of the ANC expressed this abhorrence sharply when they declared that the best interests of the child should be paramount, with child-headed households a priority for protection and care. Furthermore, the existing safety nets which deal with poverty, ongoing murders, disappearance, abuse and neglect should be strengthened, and the perpetrators of all these evil deeds should be brought to book.
South Africans have the right to freedom and security of the person, as enshrined in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of our country, Act 108 of 1996. This right includes the right to be free from all forms of violence from public or private sources. This right is violated when a child is exposed to violence, such as rape, gun violence and domestic violence.
The goal of child protection is to promote, protect and fulfil children's right to protection from abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence, as expressed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and other human rights, humanitarian treaties, conventions, and national laws.
Child protection aims to prevent, respond to and resolve the abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence experienced by children in all settings. Child protection is a specialised sector in its own right, and it is necessary to work very closely with other sectors. It requires a multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach, with work in education, health and justice.
Increasing the effective protection of children also involves working with a wide range of formal and informal bodies, including governments, multilateral agencies, donors, communities, caregivers and families. Importantly it also requires close partnership with children, including initiatives to strengthen their capacity to protect themselves.
The government has to ensure the protection of children from violence through various instruments. These instruments include the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, General Comment No 10: Children's Rights in Juvenile Justice, and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice.
These international instruments clearly stipulate the recognition of a child as being a person below the age of 18 years, whose rights are to be protected and fulfilled. These instruments and laws would improve the lives of children across the world, but they are dependent on the extent to which the state parties implement them and adopt domestic measures to comply with the relevant obligations.
These obligations would include, firstly, providing clear constitutional provisions that give expression to child rights in section 28 of our Constitution.
Secondly, other key pieces of legislation include: the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, Act 34 of 1995; the Domestic Violence Act, Act 116 of 1998; the Criminal Law Amendment Act, Act 105 of 1997; the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, Act 121 of 1998; the Sexual Offences Amendment Act of 2008; and the Children's Act, Act 38 of 2005.
Furthermore policies, norms and standards, guidelines and programmes have been developed to assist victims of gender-based violence, for example, the Victim Empowerment Programme.
Despite all the significant strides that have been made, at least one in three South African women can be expected to be raped in her lifetime, and one in four will be beaten by her domestic partner. These figures, as well as the failure of South Africa's overburdened criminal justice and health systems to respond appropriately to the crisis, suggest an unacknowledged gender civil war.
The South African government has in turn responded to the protection of children in the country in various ways. In regard to a legislative framework, the Constitution, Act 108 of 1996, has a specific part to play that deals with children's socioeconomic rights, namely in section 28.
Moreover, the following laws have a particular bearing on the protection of children. The state has various layers of obligations. In terms of section 7(2) of the Constitution the state has a duty to "respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights". Specific laws that are currently in place that protect children from maltreatment, abuse, neglect and degradation include, but are not limited to, the following: the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, Act 32 of 2007; the Children's Act, Act 38 of 2005; and the Child Justice Act, Act 75 of 2008. [Time expired.] Thank you, Chair. [Applause.]