National Framework For Programmes For Exploited Children

BACKGROUND:

What is the cause about?
  • The National Department of Social Development (“DSD”) is busy developing a national framework and programmes (focus: education for awareness and prevention) on exploited children in four areas of child exploitation:
    (1) Child trafficking
    (2) Commercial sexual exploitation of children,
    (3) Child labour, and
    (4) Child pornography, including exposure of a child to adult pornography and other potentially disturbing, harmful and age-inappropriate materials.
  • Up until now the government has not had such framework or programmes (on exploited children specifically) in place.

 

INJUSTICE/OPPORTUNITY:

Why must we act and What is at stake?
  • DSD is engaging civil society, content and subject experts to obtain public input for the purpose of developing the framework and intervention programmes.
  • This is a significant opportunity to work directly and closely with government (and to establish strong and lasting working relationships) to make a contribution towards a national policy framework and programmes to prevent and/or intervene as early as possible in child exploitation throughout South Africa.

 

CFJ’s INVOLVEMENT:

Where do things stand and what will happen next?
  • CFJ participated in a two-day consultative workshop the DSD hosted in December 2018.
  • We were granted an opportunity to provide DSD with further inputs on the framework by early 2019.
  • Once the framework has been finalised, DSD will hold further consultative workshops (later in 2019) to develop consensus regarding the content of the programmes that fall under the framework (CFJ has been invited to participate in these further workshops as well).
  • CFJ is working towards hosting training on the prevention of and intervention in child exploitation in the Western Cape during the second semester of 2019.

 

STATUS UPDATE:

  • CFJ organised a mini-workshop with our own constituents and allied stakeholders, which was held on 8 February 2019 near Stellenbosch.
  • Based on the outcomes of the abovementioned workshop we hosted locally, we were able to provide DSD with comprehensive commentary on the child exploitation programmes framework by way of consolidated submissions from our workshop stakeholder group.
  • On 1 April 2019, CFJ Executive Director and Legal Counsel, Ryan Smit, met with DSD Directorates on Child Exploitation and Child Protection at DSD head office in Pretoria/Tswane to further engage around our inputs and continued working relationship with DSD going forward.
  • Consequent to our ongoing involvement with the framework for programmes on exploited children, CFJ was invited by DSD and attended their three-day national workshop on the development of a National Inter-Sectoral Protocol on the Prevention and Management of Violence, Child Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation. The workshop was hosted in March 2019 in Johannesburg, Gauteng. We will be giving inputs into the development of the Protocol over the remainder of 2019.

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

How can you make a difference?

You can support this cause by:

  • Contributing financially to enable us to further the work to prevent and intervene in the exploitation of children, and to host important anti-exploitation training workshops locally.
  • Telling others about Cause for Justice and the work we do.

 

Other:

CAUSE FOR JUSTICE

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