The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) says it is working with some development stakeholders in South Africa to establish a ‘social compact’.
The stakeholders include the government, private sector, academia and civil society.
According to the UN agency, the aim of this initiative is to provide a holistic and broad ranging response to prevent and reduce levels of violence against children in the country.
UNICEF, in a statement, announced a plan to conduct training for teachers, child and youth care workers in skills to identify and recognise physical child abuse and other child rights violations.
The UN agency made the commitment after statistics released by the South African Police Service showed that 352 children were violently killed between October and December 2021.
It is understood that the number of deaths decreased 5.6 percent compared to 2020 but attempted murders jumped 30 percent.
‘These statistics do not even tell the full story. Another 394 children survived attempted murder and 2,048 children were victims of physical assault’, UNICEF South Africa Representative, Christine Muhigana, said in the statement.
‘Each child must now recover from their physical injuries and cope with the mental trauma they suffered as a result.
‘Providing families with the skills needed to better cope with, to manage and overcome stresses that can lead to violence is also critical’.
The South Africa Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), in 2015, noted that sexual violence against children was prevalent in the country alongside widespread acceptance of physical abuse of children within homes and schools.
The SAHRC report also revealed that 73.8 percent of all children killed under the age of five were killed in the context of abuse and neglect.
Additional data from UNICEF shows that many children are at risk of domestic violence, substance abuse, sexual abuse and neglect in South Africa.
Development Diaries gathered that the South African government has committed to allocating additional financial resources for child services.
Source: UNICEF
Photo source: UNICEF/Sobekwa