26 May – 2 June 2024

Child Protection Week helps remind us of the vulnerability of children within society. South Africa’s children are vulnerable for a myriad of reasons – from the economic hardships, under resourcing in communities most at risk and vulnerability to continuous and complex trauma, the challenges for mental health professionals supporting children and families are real.  In addition to this, it is recognised that over 50% of South African’s children, i.e. over 10 million children do not live with a biological parent.  They may live with an extended family member or alternative caregiver – some of which is formalised in the alternative care system, but for many children, this is not.

Children are said to need three things to succeed in life and break out of the poverty trap: i) a good enough education, ii) a consistent relationship with a primary caregiver and iii) support for that caregiver.  As psychologists, the role of support for children in the education sphere as well as within their families and communities is important.  An opportunity to partner or collaborate with other role players while advocating for children to have the best possible foundation exists.  Role players may be social workers, educators, health care professionals and community-based organizations relevant to the child’s context all matter in offering a family care and support.

The purpose of the South African Children’s Act of 2005 act is to establish what is needed for the protection of children to flourish and thrive, ideally within their families of origin wherever possible.  What this means is that should there be a suspicion of risk (neglect, abuse including sexual, physical, emotional, and psychological) as well as medical and educational neglect is that this renders that person responsible who has been made aware of this to report.  Any person working with children is accountable and held liable to the act. As mandatory reporters, self-awareness of personal fears and biases matter – without this there is often a reluctance to report or fear of disruption of family units that then do not lead to any further intervention. 

Themes and trends emerging within the greater child protection landscape currently include an increase in sexual abuse disclosure, anxiety & depression, and self-harm (including increased substance use and anti-social behaviours). The expected risks to children following the Covid pandemic lockdown are being noted.

Developing good working relationships with the relevant child protection organisations and Forensic & Child Sexual Offences officers within your local SAPS are helpful ways of building broader support networks for psychologists to refer and consult with, as well as continue to strengthen services for children in need of care.

The adage that it takes a village to raise a child remains equally true for the protection of children. Not only to raise them but to protect them also.

The Role of Child Welfare and Social Work

During Child Protection Week, the South African Association of Counselling Psychology (SAACP) wish to draw attention to the important role Child Welfare and our Social Work colleagues play in the protection of our children. Nasiphi Matshaya, Social Work Manager, Child Welfare Makhanda, shares her thoughts:

As a child protection organization, our work is guided and governed by the Children’s Act, (Act 38/2005) working to ensure that the best interests of the child is always served. Most of the cases reported to our office are as a result of child abuse (sexual, emotional and physical), neglect, substance abuse by the parents, poor/inadequate parenting skills, domestic violence between parents etc. Our social workers work with two types of cases, each managing over 120 cases. We have statutory cases, where children have been removed from their parent’s care due to dire circumstances at home and are placed in foster care or registered Child and Youth Care Centres (CYCC) via Court Orders. Our other focus is on prevention cases where we work intensively with families in order to keep children within the family system.

Contrary to many people’s beliefs, the focus of our work is NOT to remove children from their families, but to do whatever we can to keep children in their homes and with their biological parents if at all possible. Obviously, there are times when we have no other choice but to remove children via Form 36 (which is the form used to legally remove children) from their parents as their safety would be at risk if left in their care. This process is done in Court and the approval of removal is endorsed by the Presiding Officer.

On a typical day, our social workers will be involved in family meetings, investigating children’s home circumstances, interviewing parents and family members, teachers, counselling children and their family members, report writing for children’s courts, appearing in court for foster care reviews, and referring children for therapy.  This work requires considerable commitment, endurance and skills as social workers face challenges every single day in their work including child abuse, neglect, domestic violence, inadequate living conditions.

Our staff respond to children in crisis, operating within a highly pressurized work environment. It therefore requires experienced and caring staff members who are able to think on their feet in crisis situations. As the Child Protection Week approaches, our social workers will be going around to schools and communities creating awareness on child protection.

Call to Develop Child Protection Policies for Social Media

In South Africa, National Child Protection Week (CPW) is observed annually to raise awareness of children’s rights as per the Children’s Act of 2005. The campaign strives to ensure safety, care, and protection for all children in various forms, including health, education, community, and social development. South Africa faces alarming rates of violence against children, and this is an overwhelming challenge to be tackled. Despite focused and progressive laws, policies, and actions to prevent and reduce violence against children, it remains a severe issue.

A targeted manner to address this issue could be through creating and enforcing child protection rights on digital platforms and social media. This article is inspired by a recent scandal exposed on Twitter, a popular social media platform. A young girl approximately aged 16/17 years was observed to be groomed by a pastor within her community. Sadly, these are all too common scandals in our communities, with increasing statistics of sexual violence and gender-based violence. Allegedly, the girl hailed from a poor, marginalized community and was spoiled by the pastor with luxuries such as takeout food, clothing, jewellery and a brand-new iPhone. Social media users observed this and were able to determine that the girl was still in high school, and the pastor was well-known and married within his community. While some adult social media users were wise and handled the situation with thought and consideration for the child in question, many ridiculed and mocked the child and her choices. Videos of the child and her high school uniform soon flooded platforms and many attempted to showcase the “poor” choices of this child. Over-exposure to social media platforms that are mixed with a variety of users across all ages, ethnicities and genders may prove concerning. Unfortunately, this could also lead to this child being a victim of cyber-bullying.

As the world develops, children are being introduced to smart technology from younger ages compared to before. We know children to be vulnerable and curious, and earlier exposure to social media may have detrimental effects on many levels. The young girl from this scandal may have been a victim of grooming, and then faced further ridicule whilst also having her face and high school plastered on an open social media platform. Cyber-bullying refers to bullying, threats or intimidation that occurs on electronic platforms. It may have severe psychological impacts on an individual, including negative self-esteem, low mood, antisocial actions and may even lead to suicidal ideation and thoughts (Albikawi, 2023).

The use of technology has permeated every area of our lives, and the creation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) may soon surpass limits of protection. While AI has become a recent advancement in technology, social media has been present for long enough to warrant child protection policies. Deliberate exposure of minors, their faces and potential locations is extremely dangerous. Whilst every effort is focused on prevention and reduction of crimes against children, including violence and abuse, there is a growing need for stringent measures of child protection on social media platforms. The responsibility for child protection in both actual and on digital environments lies upon the community. As the world advances into the wonders of smart technology, our responsibility to extend protection and guidance must progress all the same.

References:

Albikawi Z. F. (2023). Anxiety, Depression, Self-Esteem, Internet Addiction and Predictors of Cyberbullying and Cybervictimization among Female Nursing University Students: A Cross Sectional Study. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(5), 4293. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054293

A Minority Perspective

Child Protection Week is an opportune time for concerned colleagues to Refresh, Rewind and Restart on critical issues regarding Children.  We have been accustomed to focusing on macro issues like Child Abuse, Bullying, Gender-based and the like. This is wholly justified as there are mounting studies that confirm the escalation of violence against children in its various forms.

As complex society further complicates innocent children again become the most affected party. A vulnerable sub-population that receives scant attention from the professional community is the Children of Divorced parents. While international literature is replete on this topic local literature is limited. It appears confined mostly to academic pursuits with little influence and cross-pollination over policy and practice.

Children of Divorce present with a unique set of dynamics mostly that go unnoticed or misunderstood.  Hence it warrants appropriate awareness,  growing attention and proverbial protection. Child Protection Week is a convenient time to bring this susceptible population into the main frame. It is reported that almost one in three marriages end in divorce. This equates to about nineteen thousand couples who dissolve their marriages annually. Further, the biggest casualties of a failed marriage are the children and at a conservative estimate this is between thirty-eight to fifty-seven thousand every year. From a statistical perspective, it may not appear significant. In psychological terms, if left unnoticed it has the potential to grow into unmanageable proportions.

Divorce involves the spouse, the children and the extended family as well as a chain of official personnel including, the opposing attorneys, Social Workers, Psychologists, the Office of the Family Advocate and the presiding Judge in Court. As expected spouses are usually engaged in an acrimonious dispute, children are confused and torn between the opposing parents and the extended family playing the blame game. While matters concerning the welfare of the children are predicated in the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 and subsequent amendments, it is moot whether the paramount principle of “Best Interests of the Child” is followed through to the letter. This becomes particularly pertinent when considering the traumatic overt and covert psychological constructs that children in particular experience. This ranges from adjustment problems, loss, grief, anxiety, depression, sadness and suicidal ideation.  In addition, children start performing poorly academically, lose interest in social activity, have difficulty adapting to change, are emotionally sensitive, have anger/irritability,  feelings of guilt, destructive behaviour, increase in health problems and loss of faith in the family unit.

Thus adversarial lawyers, template-following social workers, and forensic psychologists,  work according to the regulations OFA and the learned judges have to “dig deep into the Pierian Spring” of psychology before they make an informed decision on reluctant children caught up in the divorce maze of their parents’ divorce.