By Jetara Ross
Did you know that it could be a criminal offence for you, as a citizen of South Africa not to report suspected child abuse? In South Africa, child abuse and neglect remains largely under-reported. This is can be attributed to young children’s lack of capacity and ability to report abuse to the appropriate authorities, their fear of being harmed by people close to them if they tell about the abuse, and the social acceptance of practices like corporal punishment and sexual harassment. The Children's Act (38 of 2005) and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act (32 of 2007) both establish compulsory reporting on incidents of abuse and deliberate neglect, and failure to report is considered a criminal offence. There is a legal obligation to report cases of abuse and neglect to the appropriate authorities, even where the child doesn’t want to pursue the case further. More importantly, failure to report could result in an increased risk of harm to the child concerned. Section 110 of the Children’s Act compels the following people to report incidents or reasonable suspicions of physical abuse causing injury, sexual abuse or deliberate neglect: Any correctional official, dentist, homeopath, immigration official, labour inspector, legal practitioner, medical practitioner, midwife, minister of religion, nurse, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, psychologist, religious leader, social service professional, social worker, speech therapist, teacher, traditional health practitioner, traditional leader or member of staff or volunteer worker at a partial care facility, drop-in centre or child and youth care centre. Ordinary citizens are given the discretion to report abuse but are not compelled to do so in terms of section 110 of the Children’s Act. The Sexual Offences Act however, compels all South African citizens who are aware of any sexual abuse or exploitation of children to report the offence. There are, however, many other circumstances that may leave a child in need of care and protection. In these cases anyone can make a voluntary report. Section 150 (1) of the Act provides that a child is considered to be in need of care and protection if the child: • has been abandoned or orphaned and is without any visible means of support;
• displays behaviour which cannot be controlled by the parent or care-giver; • lives or works on the streets or begs for a living; • is addicted to a dependence-producing substance and is without any support to obtain treatment for such dependency; • has been exploited or lives in circumstances that expose the child to exploitation; • lives in or is exposed to circumstances which may seriously harm that child’s physical, mental or social well-being; • may be at risk if returned to the custody of the parent, guardian or caregiver of the child as there is reason to believe that he or she will live in or be exposed to circumstances which may seriously harm the physical, mental or social well-being of the child; • is in a state of physical or mental neglect; • is being maltreated, abused, deliberately neglected or degraded by a parent, a care-giver, a person who has parental responsibilities and rights or a family member of the child or by a person under whose control the child is. • is a victim of child labour; • or is a child in a child-headed household Once a conclusion is reached that there was/is physical/sexual abuse or deliberate neglect, or there is reasonable suspicion, it must be reported to one of three authorities: • the provincial Department of Social Development;
• a police official;
• or a designated child protection organization.
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