The Institute of Development Studies in the United Kingdom describes social protection as all public and private initiatives that provide income or consumption transfers to the poor, protect vulnerable livelihoods and enhance the social status and rights of the marginalised with the objective of reducing the economic and social vulnerability of poor, vulnerable and marginalised groups.
In South Africa the attempt to address physical, psychological and social abuse had to be uplifted to address more systemic and intergenerational problems. Truly, a successful society invests its best resources and hopes in the success of its children, which allows me to conclude that children are the future of the present generation. The manner in which we treat our children today is a direct reflection of what our society will look like in the future.
Allow me to unequivocally stress that there is no future without the present. That implies that our behaviour towards our children today will be seen tomorrow when these children are adults. An old Indian adage states: "We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." Therefore there is an absolute need to build a strong social fabric that will strengthen the protection of our children. Apart from government and government institutions, communities, civil society and children, the perpetrators who are threatening the safety of our children must be engaged constructively to understand the root cause of these social ills. Every day children are mutilated, abducted, kidnapped, raped, sodomised and subjected to all forms of ill-treatment, rendering them vulnerable and insecure.
In Mpumalanga a pastor repeatedly raped and impregnated his own biological child, who gave birth to three children as a result. In his defence the pastor quoted the Bible as a book that justified his abominable actions. This is taboo in our society! Yesterday when I was listening to the news I heard that here in Gugulethu a 20-year-old slit the throat of a three-year- old child and hid the body in a suitcase. What is that, hon members?
Last week the "Sunday rapist" admitted to abducting, kidnapping, raping and killing a schoolchild. What is happening in our country? Our society is really sick. Exposure to media and communication technology and devices has overtaken parenting methodologies and has seen children sending and receiving sexually explicit material which endangers their safety. I learnt with dismay from the print media this weekend that 90% of our children have seen porn on the Internet and that the language used in these interactions is codified to such an extent that parents cannot understand the content. It is clear that this is a phenomenon that has become a huge social problem, requiring a collective, communal wisdom to outgrow it.
Among the objectives of the Children's Act, Act 38 of 2005, is the provision of structures, services and means for promoting and monitoring the sound physical, psychological, intellectual, emotional and social development of children; the strengthening and development of community structures that can assist in providing care and protection for children; and the protection of children from discrimination, exploitation and any other physical, emotional or moral harm or hazard.
Madiba once said that any nation that did not care for and protect its children was not a nation. I want to pose a question regarding what Madiba said about what constitutes a nation: Can we respond in unison that we are a nation when we have so many untold stories of child abuse in our country? I think we all know the answer to that.
When one turns around to look closely at our education system, one finds that schools are a breeding ground and the seat for the execution of so much of the immorality against our children. Sexual harassment by the very people to whom we have entrusted the responsibility of protecting our children is rife. Schoolchildren indulge in drugs and many other immoral acts which increase the rate of failure and teenage pregnancy as well as illiteracy levels among our community members, plus many other social ills.
The risk associated with an unsafe school environment is that South Africa will not be able to produce adequate skills required by the workplace, which then translates into high levels of unemployment. Indeed, let us work together to protect our children. There is no doubt that family breakdown is part of a decaying society. On 5 April 2011, the Sowetan newspaper reported that there were 9 million children who were without fathers. The scourge of HIV and Aids has plunged the social fabric of this country into an ever-worsening condition. We are witnessing child-headed families living in dire poverty, with poor educational outcomes, antisocial behaviour, delinquency and few prospects in life. These children are likely to have unplanned children with multiple partners, which brings about another generation born without stable families.
In 2008 about 98 000 children, which constitutes about 0,5% of the South African population, were living in child-headed households where all members were younger than 18. Many children grow up in fractured families. I want to repeat that our country is so ill. Society is so ill. If my pastor were here I would say that we needed an injection from heaven.
The tendency to speak at length about social ills and dovetailing our sentiments with legislation has had little impact on protecting our children. Our communities need us to lead by example, not ride on the back of development and the implementation of government policies. Every individual is required to help change the situation. I envisage a situation where every member will adopt a child-headed family and raise it like his or her own, providing an environment that is safe from drugs, rapists, hunger, poor education, etc. That calls for us as Members of Parliament to roll up our sleeves and be part of our communities.
As I conclude, may I remind this august Council that we are walking to the future on the feet of our children. Without them, there is no future. Let us work together to protect our children. Morena boloka setshaba sa rona, le bana ba rona. [God bless our nation and our children.] [Interjections.]