By Gontse Sekhantso

Social Development Minister Dina Pule told a two-day Children’s Summit in White River, Mpumalanga, on Thursday that children must be directly involved in shaping policies and recommendations aimed at protecting them from abuse.

The summit, held under the theme Nothing About Children Without Children, brings together government departments, civil society, law-enforcement agencies, development partners, the private sector and child representatives ahead of the Second Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children in Manila on November 18 and 19.

It forms part of the Department of Social Development’s October programme for Social Development Month, held this year under the theme Strengthening Families through Partnerships.

“The Department of Social Development is responsible for children and responsible people with disabilities. Today, we will showcase the work that we do for the vulnerable people that we are responsible for, but we chose to start with the children’s summit,” Pule said.

The summit follows commitments made by South Africa at the First Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children in Bogotá, Colombia, in November 2024.

At that gathering, South Africa committed to seven child-protection breakthroughs to be implemented across the country’s 52 districts.

Pule said the Bogotá discussions had highlighted the need for countries to strengthen measures to prevent and end violence against children.

Online safety is among the issues receiving particular attention as children increasingly use smartphones and digital platforms for communication, education and social interaction.

Pule said the growing use of technology had created an urgent need to consider how children could be protected from abuse in digital spaces.

“We’re trying to check if children are not going to be abused online,” she said. “We know that children have smartphones and they communicate with them.”

The summit is expected to produce child-informed recommendations and strengthen cooperation between sectors involved in child protection, while ensuring that children’s priorities are reflected in renewed commitments and accountability measures.

According to the World Health Organization’s Global Status Report on Preventing Violence Against Children 2020, about one in two children aged two to 17 — roughly one billion children globally — experiences some form of violence each year.

The scale of the problem means preventing violence against children requires coordinated action across government, communities, families, schools, law-enforcement agencies and organisations working with children.

The recommendations developed during the summit will contribute to future policies, programmes and accountability efforts aimed at protecting children from violence in both physical and digital environments.

INSIDE EDUCATION

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