CAPE TOWN - National Child Protection Week ends on Thursday. But authorities say awareness and efforts to end violence against children will continue.
They’re calling on communities, civil society and faith-based organisations to assist in protecting all children. They say tighter laws alone won’t be effective.
Children in South Africa face more violence than the global average. Some say the underlying socio-economic conditions in the country have led to an increase in violence against children, including the sale of children.
READ: Child Protection Week raises concerns over safety of children in SA
Scores of people attended a community engagement with government stakeholders in Mitchell’s Plain.
The Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with disabilities says the rights of the child are paramount and must be protected.
This includes preventing children from being recruited into gangs and caught up in gang violence, which appears to be on the increase.
By: Ayesha Ismail