STAND AND PROTECT...CHILD AND YOUTH CARE IN SOUTH AFRICA

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There was a recent call on social media for a National Day of Prayer for the children of South Africa. It called for a 12 noon moment of prayer . The reason?... the horrifying number of child rapes coupled with child killings in this country. A web-site question at that time was entitled " Is it true that a child is raped every 6 minutes in South Africa?" The argument was that statistics reported cases didn't reflect the actual figures because of a culture, silence and unreporting. The upsurge of child rape incidences in South Africa IS horrifying. Made more so by the coupling of child rape with child killings, which of course hit the headlines.


My blog of 25th June 2012 was entitled, "Child Rape....so now for the Safe Village" It quotes an editorial comment on the "horrifying" numbers of child rape cases......2012 !!! It quotes the African saying "It takes a village to raise a child. Then goes on to say, "Our villages are rotten to the core". The blog makes out a case for the opposite. Our villages are not rotten to the core.  Current community outrage has taken to the streets. Generally with the demand that the police to do more.

The blog makes out a case for the "Safe Village". Nothing has changed since 2012. It's worse , Surely, the time is NOW. As professional child and youth care workers we have a responsibility not just to advocate, but to ACT.

The Isibindi community-based professional child care project has done much toward child protection. It has an add-on Child Protection Programme. The Isibindi Safe Park provides 65 square meters of after school safety and early professional intervention. It is adulted with child and youth care professionals. Now let's take some of those principles and apply them to the village, the safe settlement, the safe street, the safe apartment, the safe neighbourhood.

In the social media this week appeared a quote by Jane Austin. "Every man is surrounded by a neighbourhood of voluntary spies". further comment continues."Knowing your neighbours is one of the best methods of crime prevention as they know your sounds, lights, movement and can inform your security company when anything seems wrong. I can't afford a security company, but we have a community volunteer service called "Nieghbourhood Watch.

At one time , three houses up, a neighbour trained herself to read the signs that are sometimes drawn on the pavement or roadside outside a house to mark you, your house ,your vulnerability and risks for robbers. For one who IS vulnerable, this was re-assuring.

That's it!! It has to do with learning to read the signs of child vulnerability, And this is where the professional child and youth care worker is ideally positioned We are trained to do exactly that.... read the signs.We are trained to design safe environments We know what to do to ensure a safe environment and to follow-up.

During the struggle against apartheid, Street Committees played an important role. The Street Committee Chairperson lead the watch. People were sensitised to quickly spot any possible erosion of dignity or rights affecting the people living in the street, neighbourhood, demarcated area. I saw this system at work in an urban informal settlement in Johannesburg much to the benefit of the children living there. Street Committees were a force to be reckoned with !!

In 1996 forward the Department of Welfare launched a child protection initiative called "Circles of Care". Posters were erected everywhere in the more vulnerable areas of Johannesburg . There was one outside my house in the urban slum area in which I lived and worked. It was designed to mobilise people to organise themselves to keep watch. There was a telephone number to call as an alert if there was suspicion of a child protection need. I can't remember when that campaign came to an end.

At about that time also the concept of Project Management funding was introduced through regulation by Minister Geraldine Fraser Moleketsi. The funding model insisted that per-capita be replaced by funding on the strength of funding proposals from the agency that showed that it was providing not only residential services, but also, and essentially, outreach programmes for prevention and early intervention as well as partnerships and networking with community based initiatives. Residential service programmes all knew that they would not be funded UNLESS they were contributing actively to the care and safety of children in the surrounding neighbouhood. ....And I am not talking about lecturing to children in schools.

It's time!!. 2012 is long gone and our child rape and child killing incidences have escalated. We appear to have a child protection crisis exacerbated by violent child violations ....even death.

Not a serious comment ! Pity we cant fence the square meters of a village., A serious comment we can establish demarcated boundaries within which professional child and youth care workers can set up a Safe Village Model. It will mean that we empower respected and responsible adults within it. By far... the village is NOT rotten to the core.

I have sat for at least half a day at a time in local well clinics packed with young mothers, waiting for a child to be examined. Large numbers of primary care givers, guardians and grandmothers sit there. some organisations and initiatives use the opportunity of having a captive bored group of mothering women. Breast feeding, pap smears, contraception, avoidance of abortion ..... nothing on child protection. Nothing on reading the signs or signals that identify a possible initiator or risk, or what how to respond for the protection of any child in the neighbourhood.

School teachers and early childhood education practitioners are also critical role players in the Safe Village. Then too can be empowered by child and youth care workers to read signs ans signals. But also for example,to act by ensuring that children are accompanied in groups when they walk home. A walking "Lift club" Ensuring checks on transportation. Bottom line.... we really need child and youth care workers in schools and ECD Centres. One way of doing this is for them to Partner with the nearest residential Child and Youth Care Centre. This worked well for me when I managed an ECD in a high risk area. But then as I explained Residential Facilities were required to lend out workers for this type of preventive work

Then for the whole model, itself. The apartheid time Street Committee could be adapted because it worked and it works. Again, child and youth care workers are ideally positioned to offer 24 hr 24/7 support services. Residential facilities can provide drop-in services, Ambo-styled learning and empowerment services to community members, safe houses.... or at least safe house support, help-lines, reporting services within a multi-disciplinary team, easy access to police services, 

It can't be THAT difficult to design an empowered, supported SAFE VILLAGE. Therapeutic and protective environments is what we do. SO WE MUST DO IT.

We have as a knowledge founded and skills based profession ACT NATIONALLY NOW.